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MODERN POLITICAL TENDENCIES 

THE STAFFORD LITTLE LECTURES 
- FOR 1919 



The Independence of the Executive 
By Grover Cleveland 

The Government in the Chicago Strike 
By Grover Cleveland 

The Venezuelan Boundary Controversy 
By Grover Cleveland 

Government of the Canal Zone 
By George W. Goethals 

The Two Hague Conferences 
By Joseph H. Choate 

Experiments in Government and the Essentials 

of the Constitution 

By Elihu Root 

The Balkan Wars 
By Jacob Gould Schurman 

National Strength and International Duty 
By Theodore Roosevelt 

Each $1.00 net, by mail $1.06 

Modern Political Tendencies 
By Theodore E. Burton 




Theodore E. Burton 



MODERN POLITICAL 
TENDENCIES 



AND THE EFFECT OF 
THE WAR THEREON 



BY 



THEODORE E. BURTON 



PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS 
PRINCETON 

LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD 

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 

1919 






Copyright, 1919, by 

Princkton University Press 

Princeton, N. J. 

Published, 1919 
Printed in the United States of America 



^Si-C^ 



2'^' 




CONTENTS 

PAGE 

General Facts 1 

Specific Political Tendencies 14* 

The Growth of Popular Government 15 

The Changing Relations of the State to the 

Activities of the Individual. ^0 

Humanitarian Tendencies 28 

The Growth of the Spirit of Nationality . . 31 

Tendencies Towaed Centralization and a 

Larger National Life 33 

Objectionable or Dangerous Tendencies ... 36 

Relation op the President to Congress .... 65 

Important Political Tendencies After the 

War 69 

New Relations of Governments to the Ac- 
tivities OF the People 78 

Humanitarian Tendencies 88 

The National Spirit 90 

Centralization 91 

Tendencies Toward Removal of Inequalities 

IN Conditions — Socialism . 93 

Increasing Taxes and their Utilization for 

the Equalization of Conditions 100 

The Result of War Upon Political Tenden- 
cies in the United States 109 

The International Outlook 113 



MODERN POLITICAL TENDENCIES 

General Facts 

Dominant political tendencies centre around 
four important questions of fundamental im- 
portance. 

1. The relation of governments to the gov- 
erned. For illustration, is the system one of 
autocratic or of popular rule? 

2. The relation of the governed each to the 
other. Are there privileged classes, or is the 
aim to secure the greatest possible equality of 
rights and opportunities? 

3. The relation of the central government 
to its constituent parts. Is there a loosely 
joined confederation or a strongly centrahzed 
organization? For seventy-five years this was 
a principal source of controversy in the United 
States. 



2 Modern Political Tendencies 

4. International relations. The dividing 
line between the relations of the first and sec- 
ond classes is often a shadowy one. In recent 
years the question of the relation of the gov- 
ernment to the governed has assumed greater 
prominence in countries of virtually autocratic 
rule, Uke Russia or Germany, while the second, 
that of the governed each to the other, has been 
more prominent in countries of liberal institu- 
tions such as the United States, Great Brit- 
ain, and France. Manifestly, the fourth 
question, that of international relations, is now 
attracting much more general consideration 
than formerly. Shall the position of a coun- 
try be one of isolation? Do its international 
policies look to aggression and repulsion or to 
goodwill and cooperation? 

Political tendencies have certain well de- 
fined characteristics and have to do with an 
almost infinite variety of proposed changes or 
reforms, the agitation for which may continue 
for a decade, a generation, or even for a cen- 
tury. During these periods certain issues are 
constantly under discussion, such as the pow- 



Modern Political Tendencies 3 

ers and relations of the Executive, ministerial 
responsibility, the functions of the legislative 
and judicial branches, the right of suffrage for 
men and women, the extent to which the State 
shall exercise control over the activities and 
conduct of its people. Of late certain social 
questions which are inseparably interlaced 
with political tendencies have attracted almost 
preeminent attention. In the course of time 
these tendencies attain their fulfilment, entire 
or partial, or disappear. Demands for exten- 
sion of the suffrage have secured perhaps more 
uniform and general response than any other 
political movement. This has been conspicu- 
ously illustrated in England and in the United 
States. The right to vote when once acquired 
is seldom revoked or limited. The recent 
movement for suffrage for women attained 
success more rapidly than the earher agitation 
for the enlargement of the privilege for men. 
In the midst of the longer movements which 
pertain to problems which are strictly of a po- 
litical character, other controversies frequently 
arise which partially eclipse the main tenden- 



4 Modern Political Tendencies 

cies or displace them for a time. An illustra- 
tion may be f omid in our own coimtry in the 
Prohibition movement. The constant agita- 
tion for change is prompted not merely by an 
earnest desire for the adoption of conceptions 
of right and equality which are regarded as 
universal in their nature, but by the neces- 
sity for new or improved political relations 
which shall square with constantly developing 
changes in social and material conditions. 

Reactions against political tendencies or 
movements are almost sure to occur. Re- 
formers and agitators reach the simmiit of 
their hopes, and then failing in popular sup- 
port fall back and rest midway between the 
starting point and the goal which they sought 
to reach. These reactions resemble the cycli- 
cal movements so familiar in the alternate sea- 
sons of activity and depression in the commer- 
cial and financial world and in the course of 
prices. The alternate control of opposing po- 
litical parties affords the most familiar exam- 
ple. In the later years of the nineteenth cen- 
tury the Liberal and Conservative parties in 



Modern Political Tendencies 5 

England succeeded each other in the House of 
Commons practically without exception. In 
the election of 1868 the Liberals were success- 
ful; in that of 1874, the Conservatives; in 1880 
the Liberals, who were retained in power after 
the election of 1885 as the result of a combin- 
ation; in 1886 the Conservatives won; in 1892 
the Liberals; and in 1895, the Conservatives 
again returned to power. The history of the 
United States is replete with illustrations. Be- 
ginning more than ninety years ago with the 
administration of John Quincy Adams, at a 
time when party lines began to be more sharp- 
ly defined, the strength of the national admin- 
istration in the House of Representatives has 
in every case been greater at the presidential 
election than in the mid-presidential election 
two years later. For example, Franklin 
Pierce was elected President in 1852 with an 
overwhelming majority in the House of Rep- 
resentatives. In the Congress chosen two 
years later his opponents elected the Speaker. 
Other notable illustrations are found in the 
second terms of Presidents Grant and Cleve- 



6 Modern Political Tendencies 

land, and in the administration of President 
Harrison. There can be no more striking ex- 
ample of this tendency to reaction than that 
afforded by the Congressional election in No- 
vember 1918. Notwithstanding the prestige 
of President Wilson, the anticipation of an 
early peace which was emphasized by the 
announcement of an armistice with Austria- 
Himgary on the day before the voters went 
to the polls, a favorable majority in the 
House of Representatives was changed to 
an adverse one. Practically no tariff bill 
has been passed for half a century without a 
loss of poUtical strength to the party adopt- 
ing it. A President of the United States once 
essayed to fix a definite period after which re- 
actionary forces would become effective against 
him. He mentioned eighteen months after his 
inauguration. By that time the glamour of 
the office would have in a measiu'e fallen off. 
Grievances would have accumulated; office 
seekers who had expected much and gained 
little, would be disappointed. False friends 
would have deserted him; and all these factors 



Modern Political Tendencies 7 

would tend to turn the current against the 
head of the government. 

This tendency to reaction is accepted as a 
phenomenon, but it has often been regarded 
as mysterious and the explanation has been 
sought by some in a study of psychology. 
There is, in fact, no real mystery. There are 
potent and ever-present causes which prevent 
continuous control by a political organization 
or the uninterrupted development of political 
reforms. 

First, there exists in every country having 
popular institutions, radical and conservative 
types. These two extremes with varying 
shades of opinion, not only appear in the aggre- 
gate citizenship, but among members of poli- 
tical parties made up of those who are united 
upon certain underlying principles. Between 
these there is a clash of conflicting ideas caus- 
ing an ebb and flow in the evolution of every 
political tendency. Usually an intermediate 
level is found to which a substantial majority 
will give steady adherence. Another reason 
for the cyclical movement is, broadly speaking, 



8 Modern Political Tendencies 

the difference between anticipation and real- 
ity. There is always difficulty in putting ab- 
stract conceptions into the form of concrete 
propositions, or, to describe it otherwise, to 
embody theories in practice. That which may 
seem to hold out the hope of beneficient results, 
when tried proves to be altogether disappoint- 
ing. Again, responsibility and the framing 
and operation of constructive measures impose 
far more serious difficulties than mere criticism 
or opposition. The promises of political plat- 
forms are not subject to the same limitations 
as the actions of those entrusted with authority. 
After taking into account all these facts there 
is the psychological effect of human fickleness 
which oftentimes stands in the way of the or- 
derly accomplishment of beneficient reforms. 
Liberalizing political tendencies foUow, 
though more slowly, and sometimes quite tar- 
dily, scientific development and the diffusion 
of knowledge. We may instance such events 
as the Italian Renaissance, the discovery of 
America, the invention of printing, the in- 
crease of productive power by the application 



Modern Politico! Tendencies 9 

of steam and by the harnessing of electricity. 
The effect of these discoveries and inventions 
in promoting a broader outlook for humanity 
and more liberal institutions can hardly be ex- 
aggerated. In every great epoch in which the 
human race has made advance in its political 
life, we can discover as an antecedent some for- 
ward movement in science or in knowledge. 
There have been numerous illustrations. If 
we group together the three reigns of Queen 
Elizabeth, James I, and Charles I, the fact is 
recognized that Queen Elizabeth was a most 
popular sovereign, though arbitrary, while 
King Charles I, who sought to rule with no 
greater degree of personal prerogative, was 
beheaded. To many this contrast in the at- 
titude of the people toward the two sov- 
ereigns mentioned, seems disconnected and 
fortuitous, but it was really a logical se- 
quence. The reign of Queen Elizabeth 
witnessed a great intellectual awakening. 
It was the golden age of Shakespeare and 
Spenser and Ben Jonson, and of Burghley, 
Sidney and Raleigh; the day when England 



10 3Iodern Political Tendencies 

took a new position among the nations because 
of the triumph over the Spanish Armada. Her 
reign was followed by that of James I, in 
which an even greater contribution perhaps was 
made to progress in the publication by Fran- 
cis Bacon of the theory of Inductive Philo- 
sophy. Science which theretofore had been 
sporadic in its application, sometimes a sort 
of plaything, became an agency for the utiliza- 
tion of physical forces and materials for the 
benefit of mankind. As a result, in the time of 
King Charles I, the people had a broader 
vision and asked more for themselves, and that 
their relations to the State be more clearly de- 
fined. Thus the sovereign who tried to be as 
arbitrary as had been the Tudor sovereign was 
not only dethroned but beheaded as well. 

We may find in the career of Mr. Webster 
an illustration of this same dependency of po- 
litical upon scientific progress. This state- 
ment is not intended to detract one iota from 
his deserved fame as a statesman or as a law- 
yer, but he was a mighty protagonist swim- 
ming with the tide. At the time when he de- 



Modern Political Tendencies 11 

livered his reply to Hayne in January 1830, 
the country was in the midst of a remarkable 
era of progress. The great period of railway 
construction had already begun, canals had 
been constructed and were in operation upon 
an increasing scale, improvements in the print- 
ing press made the dissemination of informa- 
tion much wider and more general. Fourteen 
years later the magnetic telegraph was intro- 
duced and was destined to bring remote por- 
tions of the coimtry nearer to each other. The 
result of this combination of progressive fac- 
tors was that the States of the Union were 
brought into relations as close as had been that 
of the counties in the time when Jefferson was 
President. Improved means of communica- 
tion and for the diffusion of information are 
a great stimulus to popular government. A 
democracy without ready access from one por- 
tion to another is hardly possible except over a 
very limited area. All these influences which 
were contemporaneous with Mr. Webster's 
career promoted unity, and but for them that 
splendid expression of his, "Liberty and Union 



12 Modern Political Tendencies 

now and forever, one and inseparable," might 
have been the dream of an idealist. 

There are manifest reasons why political 
progress should be slower than social or eco- 
nomic progress. In most of the physical sci- 
ences exact results can be reached, but govern- 
ment is a field in which a constantly present 
feature is that of experiment and trial. The 
power and prestige of rulers and favored 
classes often aflPord obstacles in the path of the 
reformer. Precedent and a natural reluctance 
to change always stand in the way. This is 
true in monarchies and republics alike. The 
history of England from the year 1800 to the 
passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, affords 
an excellent illustration. It was a period of 
unprecedented material progress in which that 
industrial organization was developed which 
established upon sure and permanent founda- 
tions the future of manufacturing and trade in 
England. It was, however, a period of politi- 
cal stagnation, though attended at the close by 
earnest, and, for a long time, unsuccessful agi- 
tation for reforms. The steady advance of 



Modern Political Tendencies 13 

liberalism did not begin until the passage of the 
Reform Act of 1832. 

Lastly, among the influences which have to 
do with political tendencies, war must be men- 
tioned. Usually, wars, whether foreign or 
civil, are but the outcome of pent up aspira- 
tions which have been long suppressed. They 
may arise from conflicting claims of country 
or of race, and presumably are not a matter of 
chance; they often cause a mighty convulsion 
followed by political and social reorganization. 
It is not merely the victory of any nation or 
nations which creates new conditions, but the 
development of new conceptions and ideas 
which are aroused or quickened by the thrilling 
events of the time. There are potent reasons 
for such results. During the conflict every 
nerve is strained for victory. There is a de- 
mand for the highest possible standards of efii- 
ciency in organization and cooperation. Pa- 
triotism and a spirit of self-sacrifice are stimu- 
lated in a manner quite impossible in time of 
peace. In a considerable degree there is a 
leveling of distinctions between different 



14 Modern Political Tendencies 

classes and ranks of society. All these factors 
have their effect when the conflict is over. 
There are new inspirations which stimulate ac- 
tion and are the parent of great results. It is 
inevitable that the more potent energies which 
are developed in the contest for victory should 
survive and show their effects in the succeed- 
ing years. Thus, many times political changes 
have been accomplished during and immedi- 
ately after wars which would have required 
scores of years in time of peace. 



Specific Political Tendencies 

Having made these general suggestions, it 
is desirable to take up those tendencies which 
stand out most prominently, and for the ade- 
quate treatment of the subject it is necessary 
to consider separately those which were most 
apparent up to the year 1914, the date of the 
beginning of the world war. Among these 
may be mentioned : 



Modern Political Tendencies 15 

The Growth of Popular Government 

The demand for increasing participation of 
the individual in public affairs was in evidence 
the world over. The prerogatives of kings and 
emperors were declining and the private citizen 
was asserting himself. Since the beginning of 
this twentieth century there have been numer- 
ous illustrations of these tendencies, and in 
many respects the progress of liberalism was 
as notable in the fourteen years immediately 
preceding the commencement of the war as in 
the whole of the one hundred years up to 1900, 
notwithstanding the fact that the nineteenth 
has been aptly styled the greatest of the cen- 
turies. In Europe Portugal became a repub- 
lic. The head of a prominent kingdom re- 
marked to Ex-President Roosevelt, in earnest 
rather than in jest, that he intended to train 
his son, the Crown Prince, so that he might be 
fitted to become president of a republic, as he 
thought that form of government was sure to 
be adopted. In every country of Europe there 



16 Modern Political Tendencies 

were insistent demands for ministerial respon- 
sibility where it had not existed. The Young 
Turks disappointed Europe and the world, but 
they gained power by the promise of responsi- 
ble ministers and a more liberal government. 
The three Scandinavian countries, together 
with Holland and Belgium (of them all, 
Denmark is, perhaps, the most advanced de- 
mocracy) , were constantly increasing the meas- 
ure of popular control and limiting the pow- 
ers of their sovereigns to a mere position of 
formal headship. In England propositions of 
an almost revolutionary bent were adopted or 
were pending. The House of Lords was vir- 
tually shorn of its power. Demands for imi- 
versal suffrage for both men and women were 
vigorously asserted. Measures for taxation 
were devised which looked to an equaHzation 
of social conditions. There was a recognition 
of the rights and opportunities of workingmen 
far in advance of previous years. In Russia 
the legislative body known as the Duma, was 
established in the year 1906, crude at first, but 
although granted reluctantly by the sovereign 



Modern Political Tendencies 17 

with the apparent expectation that its powers 
would be nuUified or minimized, it gave prom- 
ise of representative institutions. Another 
important change was made in Russia in the 
same year under which the Imperial Council, 
formerly appointed exclusively by the sov- 
ereign, was divided into two classes of equal 
number, one of which was to be chosen directly 
or indirectly by the people. 

Passing on to Asia: in Persia in the year 
1906, the Shah responded to the demand of the 
people for popular institutions and gave his 
consent for the establishment of a National 
Council. This newly created body enjoyed 
only a temporary existence, but the people suc- 
ceeded in 1907 in obtaining rural and town 
councils to be chosen by universal suffrage. 
In India, the land of caste and of entire sub- 
mission to British rule, the local councils which 
formerly consisted of six members were en- 
larged to sixty-six, twenty-five of whom are 
to be elected by the people. Most notable of 
all, China, the seat of conservatism since the 
world began, became a republic. It is by no 



18 Modern Political Tendencies 

means certain that the changes to popular rule 
which have occurred before and during the war 
will result in stable, representative goverli- 
ment in every country. Very probably peo- 
ples which have taken on democratic institu- 
tions after gaining liberty from long standing 
tyranny will go to extremes for a time. The 
reign of radicalism which has spread widely 
will, no doubt, be checked by the inevitable 
reaction. The dangers incident to a sudden 
transition from autocratic to popular rule have 
at no time been more forcibly expressed than 
by our honored President, Woodrow Wilson, 
in his lectures on Constitutional Government, 
in which he says : 

"Self-government is not a mere form of in* 
stitutions, to be had when desired, if only pro- 
per pains be taken. It is a form of character. It 
follows upon the long discipline which gives a 
people self-possession, self-mastery, the habit 
of order and peace and common counsel, and a 
reverence for law which will not fail when they 
themselves become the makers of law: the 
steadiness and self-control of political matur- 



Modern Political Tendencies 19 

ity. And these things cannot be had without 
long discipline." 

Closely associated with the growth of popu- 
lar government on familiar lines, is the demand 
for larger individual participation by the peo- 
ple in public affairs, as instanced by move- 
ments for the direct primary, the referendum 
and the initiative. These demands have been 
especially prominent in Switzerland, in several 
British Dominions and in nimierous States in 
this country. The strength of the movement 
in national politics has been illustrated by the 
adoption of a constitutional amendment for 
the popular election of senators. It cannot 
be said that these tendencies have yet reached 
their final manifestation in this country, but 
we may be confident they will not cause the 
havoc which their conservative opponents fear, 
nor will they accomplish the far-reaching ad- 
vantages which their advocates have asserted. 
If there is any one who believes it possible to 
reform human nature or to change the charac- 
ter of our citizenship and its standards by new 
political methods or by legislation, he might as 



20 Modern Political Tendencies 

well dismiss his arguments for silly season dis- 
cussion. The really determinative factors in 
public affairs lie deeper than the initiative, the 
referendum and the primary, and are to be 
found in the despotism of popular opinion, the 
ideals, the traditions of the people, the willing- 
ness or unwilhngness of the citizen to sacrifice 
his personal interest and to devote a reasonable 
share of his time and effort to the good of the 
state. If there are high standards in these re- 
gards we shall have good laws, whether they are 
enacted by state legislatures at the state capi- 
tals, or by a popular vote under the initiative. 
Officials of competency and honesty will be 
named whether at the primary or in the party 
convention. 



The Changing Relations of the State to 
THE Activities of the Individual 

In the middle of the last century the doctrine 
of laissez f aire prevailed in England, and was 
strongly supported in the United States and 
other countries. It was a widely accepted doc- 



Modern Political Tendencies 21 

trine that the best method for each government 
was to restrict its authority over individuals to 
the protection of their rights and the punish- 
ment of wrongs, and to defence against for- 
eign aggression. The most thorough discus- 
sion of this subject occurred in England. 
Jeremy Bentham, a reformer and a radical of 
wide influence, was a pioneer in support of the 
laissez faire principle as an application of util- 
itarian ideas of the greatest good to the great- 
est number. He advocated the utmost free- 
dom in trade. One of his sayings was, "All 
that industry and commerce ask of the state is 
that which Diogenes asked of Alexander, 
'Keep out of my sunshine'." Freedom of con- 
tract, absolute control by the individual of his 
own actions, provided he did not commit wrong 
which was worthy of punishment; these were 
his cherished views and they were adopted and 
developed by an imposing array of economists 
and publicists who followed him. Mr. John 
Stuart Mill said, that the only purpose for 
which power can be rightly exerted over any 
member of a civilized community against his 



N. 



22 Modern Political Tendencies 

will, was to prevent harm to others. His own 
good, physical or moral, was not sulBicient war- 
rant for governmental interference. The only 
part of his conduct for which he was respon- 
sible to society was that which directly con- 
cerned others. Mr. Macaulay said that gov- 
ernment had best undertake little else than 
strictly pohtical duties. Mr. Buckle was much 
more pronounced in his views, and said that the 
proper aim of government was not to do some- 
thing new, but to undo something old; it was 
rather to untangle and remove the effect of 
the mistakes which had been made by prior 
governments. In our own country Thomas 
Jefferson regarded individuahsm as one of the 
cornerstones of political organization. 

The changing relation of the individual to 
the state cannot by any means be entirely as- 
cribed to humanitarian considerations or to a 
different opinion as to the proper scope of in- 
dividual activities. It is in large measure 
traceable to changing conditions; the remark- 
able growth of cities, the increased complexity 
of modem life, the factory system, the sanitary 



Modern Political Tendencies 23 

and Qther dangers which lurk in great aggre- 
gations of population. It is a singular fact in 
regard to laws for the alleviation of labor con- 
ditions and for shorter hours, that the earlier 
statutes in England were enacted by the Tor- 
ies. Brougham, Cobden, Bright, and Glad- 
stone, and other leading Liberals, were such 
strenuous advocates of laissez f aire that they 
did not, at the time of the earlier discussions, 
believe in exercising governmental control over 
the relations of employer and employee. Such 
questions, they maintained, should be left to 
private contract. John Bright was the bitter- 
est opponent of this class of legislation. Cob- 
den was somewhat less strenuous in his opposi- 
tion. But with the phenomenal increase of 
manufacturing and a recognition of the piti- 
able condition of many of the workers in fac- 
tories and coal mines, it became manifest that 
sanitary regulations and limitations of hours 
were essential for the general good. In this 
connection it may be said that laws for improv- 
ing the status of toilers have theu- natural basis 
in an evolution in industry. There was a time 



V 



24 Modern Political Tendencies 

when the great majority of men and women 
were compelled to work from early morning 
mitil late at night for the mere means of sub- 
sistence. With the progress of invention, with 
machinery as a substitute for hand labor, the 
furnishing of the necessaries of life is very 
much easier than it was, and it is possible to 
add to these necessaries a constantly increas- 
ing supply of conveniences and luxuries. As 
a result it is not required that manual labor 
should be so constant or so strenuous. We 
should not withhold due praise from those who 
have been pioneers in advocating legislation 
for the betterment of labor, but these laws are 
for the most part the natural development of 
progressive factors which are made possible by 
the achievements of science and by superior 
knowledge. 

The doctrine of non-interference has grad- 
ually given way to the idea that society is one 
great whole, and it is strenuously maintained 
by many that the growth and strength of gov- 
ernments should not proceed from the individ- 
ual to the centre, but should go out from the 



Modern Political Tendencies 25 

centre toward the circumference; that every 
citizen is the ward of the state and that a de- 
gree of parental control should be exercised 
over him. Thus the activities, the conduct, the 
contracts of all citizens, high or low, rich or 
poor, are fit subjects for legislation by the 
state, and the state will not perform its proper 
functions or attain its most useful position 
without legislation which shall define the rela- 
tions of classes to each other, and exercise su- 
pervision over the people for the purpose of 
promoting the general welfare. 

The doctrine of laissez f aire was discredited 
by rulers and political leaders in Germany. 
Bismarck said it meant that "he who couldn't 
stand up should be knocked down." And again, 
it meant "to him that hath shall be given, and 
from him that hath not shall be taken away 
even that which he hath." The recently de- 
throned dynasty in Germany, and theretofore 
in Prussia, manifested an earnest solicitude for 
the welfare of the poorer classes. The Em- 
peror WiUiam I said that the strength of the 
State was alHed with the well-being of the com- 



26 Modern Political Tendencies 

mon people. The Imperial Minister of the In- 
terior once stated that the vast industrial ex- 
pansion of the German Empire was chiefly due 
to the efficiency of its workers, and that such 
efficiency must have suffered had not the State 
secured to the working classes by social legisla- 
lation a tolerable standard of life, and, as far 
as possible, guaranteed to them physical health. 
Numerous statutes discrediting the princi- 
ple of laissez f aire and most of them intended 
for the benefit of the working classes, were 
adopted in England after the accession of the 
Liberals to power in 1906. The first statute of 
prominence was the Trades Act of 1906, under 
which neither masters nor employees organ- 
ized in imions or associations can be held re- 
sponsible for tortuous acts. Next was the Old 
Age Pensions Act of 1908. An argument for 
this statute based upon expediency, was that 
many elderly people could not earn enough to 
keep them out of the poorhouse, who, never- 
theless, if granted a small pension could piece 
out their earnings and prevent them from be- 
coming a public charge. About the same time 



Modern Political Tendencies 27 

the Education Act was adopted which con- 
tained a provision for the furnishing of a cer- 
tain number of meals for the children of in- 
digent parents. The Insurance Act of 1911 
sought to secure two objects. First, insurance 
against loss from ill-health and provision for 
the attendance of doctors; second, insurance 
against non-employment in certain trades by 
a requirement that payments be made to those 
out of employment. Employment bureaus 
were organized under the control of the State. 
The Trades Union Act of 1913 allowed the 
funds of the trade unions to be used for the 
furtherance of political objects under the di- 
rection of officers of the union. Prior to the 
passage of this statute, these officers had sought 
to apply their funds to promote the chances 
of friendly political candidates. A member 
sought an injunction and obtained it. This 
Act was then passed and greatly increased the 
influence of these unions in politics. Further 
wage acts have been passed providing minimimi 
rates of wages for those engaged in the cloth- 
ing trades and in coal mines. The number of 



28 Modern Political Tendencies 

trades included will, no doubt, be increased, 
and propositions have been offered and are 
now pending for the adoption of general mini- 
mum wage schedules. 



Humanitarian Tendencies 

A third tendency very closely associated with 
the last named is the spirit of humanitarianism 
as developed in recent years. This has pro- 
foundly affected the social and political life of 
nations. As distinguished from the attention 
just accorded to the changing relation of the 
State to the individual, it may be regarded as 
a changed relation of the governed each to the 
other. 

In every period of awakening or convulsion 
there is a disposition to take stock of inequali- 
ties in the conditions of existence enjoyed by 
human beings, whether such conditions proceed 
from differences in the enjoyment of political 
power, or in the possession of wealth and the 
means of subsistence. The more favored 
classes yield to the less favored, either as the 



Modern Political Tendencies 29 

result of force, or more frequently of orderly 
processes. Often the resistance to such move- 
ments is characterized by lack of vigor or by a 
conviction on the part of those in the enjoy- 
ment of power and privilege that the times re- 
quire a change. Mr. Benjamin Kidd in his 
work on Social Evolution remarks how feeble 
was the resistance at the time of the French 
Revolution which the privileged classes inter- 
posed against those who demanded what they 
termed "their rights," and he makes this very 
strong statement, "It was in the hearts of the 
ruling classes rather than in the streets that the 
battle was won." 

The tendency toward humanitarianism finds 
expression not merely in the pohcies of politi- 
cal parties and the promises of candidates for 
office, but in the general spirit which pervades 
communities and nations. It has been main- 
tained that in countries such as Germany the 
movement has been due to a desire to promote 
efficiency, while in the United States and Eng- 
land it is the result of popular rule. The move- 
ment is traceable rather to an almost universal 



30 Modern Political Tendencies 

enhancement in the regard which social classes 
have for each other, especially the more for- 
tunate for the less fortmiate. This has per- 
vaded every portion of the earth where there 
is a careful consideration of the interests of 
all. It is a larger appreciation of what hu- 
manity and human welfare mean, a disposition 
which appears independently of forms of gov- 
ernment, though more vigorously promoted in 
countries of popular institutions. The condi- 
tion of the less favored classes has come to be 
considered not so much as an appeal to a spirit 
of benevolence as the basis of a right. While 
private activity for charity and betterment has 
reached proportions never known before, the 
State has been called upon to render assistance 
in far greater measure than ever. Illustrations 
may be found in enlarged provision at the cost 
of the taxpayer for public hospitals, municipal 
parks and playgrounds, for the better care of 
the insane and submerged classes, for the more 
considerate treatment of criminals. It cannot: 
be denied that many well intentioned efforts 
for the unfortunate lead to excesses and even to 



Modern Political Tendencies 31 

absurdity. The natural result of the activities 
of many philanthropists and aid societies — 
and this is true of statutory regulations as well 
—is to make permanent derelicts of those to 
whom aid is proffered. It is needless to say 
that the one aim in aiding the weaker should 
be to enable them, if possible, to look upward 
and become more independent and useful mem- 
bers of society. 



The Growth of the Spirit of Nationality 

This fourth tendency has been widely mani- 
fest, whether we interpret the term "national- 
ity" as referring to existing nations or to peo- 
ples of kindred race and language having na- 
tional aspirations. The growing influence of 
this tendency has been denied by some who ar- 
gue that the spirit of cosmopohtanism has been 
increasing, that the world is becoming one 
great commercial republic, that international 
steamships, railways, cables and wireless have 
broken down barriers. Nevertheless, the fu- 



32 Modern Political Tendencies 

tility of international associations made up of 
those of common views or interests was em- 
phatically proven at the beginning of the late 
war. Their efforts for peace were ruthlessly 
swept aside by the stronger ties of nationality 
and their own members abandoned their cher- 
ished opinions of universal brotherhood in re- 
sponse to the call to arms. In the modern 
world every man realizes that for the enjoy- 
ment of the most helpful opportimities he must 
depend very largely upon the protection and 
assistance afforded him by his country, and that 
in turn his coimtry needs his support and con- 
stant loyalty. Every nation desires to increase 
its commerce and trade, many seek to enlarge 
their borders, and all have that growing desire 
for power and influence which was so consider- 
able a factor in precipitationg the late war. 
Pride of nationality is stimulated as interna- 
tional relations become more prominent. Along 
with these influences there has also been a cer- 
tain growth of race-repulsion which increases 
rather than diminishes with closer contact. 
The attractive traits of other peoples and the 



Modern Political Tendencies 33 

desirability of engaging in commerce and main- 
taining friendly relations with them are all 
recognized, but repellant quahties are recog- 
nized as well. It is not easy for those of dif- 
ferent race and of different ideals to live to- 
gether in the most perfect harmony. 



Tendencies Towabd Centkalization and a 
Larger Nationai. Life 

As an effect of increasing facilities for trans- 
portation and the extension of trade over far 
wider areas, together with the enlarged partici- 
pation of governments in many essential enter- 
prises and operations, there has been a pro- 
nounced tendency toward centralization. This 
has been powerfully reinforced by the national 
spirit above referred to. In some cases the 
dominant reason for unity or centralization has 
been political in its nature and actuated by the 
desire of a people of the same race and lan- 
guage to create a stronger nationahty. This 
may be said of the consohdation of separate 



34 Modern Political Tendencies 

states, formerly loosely associated, into the 
German Empire, and the creation of a United 
Italy. In other instances the most prominent 
reason has been a recognition of economic in- 
terdependence and a conviction that in a larger 
federation the different activities and agencies 
of government will be more effective. This 
may be illustrated by the consolidation imder 
one federal government of the six Australian 
colonies, accomplished at the beginning of this 
century; also by the Union of South Africa, 
established about 1906, combining communities 
which had been loyal to the British Crown with 
those which had been at war with England. 

As a result of peaceful development the ten- 
dency toward contralization has been very 
marked in the United States. In many re- 
spects boundary lines between different com- 
monwealths have become mere vanishing traces 
on the map. The larger operations of trade 
and transportation are recognized as national 
rather than local. Many undertakings of na- 
tional aspect receive different and sometimes 
conflicting treatment in the various States and 



Modern Political Tendencies 35 

uniform regulations are demanded. It is still 
desirable, however, that each State retain its 
own political consciousness and separate re- 
sponsibilities. It may well be questioned 
whether the tendency to abdicate the functions 
of State governments had not at the beginning 
of the war attained a development quite out of 
line with the fundamental ideas of the Federal 
Constitution. The dividing hne between fed- 
eral and state activities will be very largely 
determined by the comparative competency 
and efficiency of the respective governments of 
each in obtaining results. The question of 
raising revenue had much to do with this prob- 
lem. Prior to the war it was altogether easier 
for the federal government to obtain by taxa- 
tion the requisite means for necessary public , 
improvements for which the states could not 
readily provide. The tendency of this was 
toward the adoption of enterprises by the Con- 
gress at Washington which might more natur- 1 
ally have been left to individual states or to 
their subdivisions. 



36 Modern Political Tendencies 

Objectionable or Dangerous Tendencies 

No treatment of this subject is complete 
without reference to certain dangerous or de- 
moralizing tendencies which could be recog- 
nized prior to the war and which manifest 
themselves in all forms of government. The 
desire for special privileges or undue individ- 
ual advantage is not confined to autocratic 
governments. It is plainly manifest in those 
of popular rule, though displayed in an en- 
tirely different maimer. An ever present dan- 
ger in any country in which universal suffrage 
is the rule, is the assertion by groups or classes 
of voters of claims which do not square with 
the general welfare. Mr. Gladstone used to 
refer to contests in Great Britain as a strug- v 
gle between "the masses and the classes." The 
situation may be more correctly described as 
the result of an inevitable tendency toward the 
organization of classes from the masses, whe- 
ther made up of the more favored or the less 
favored elements of the population. Intelli- 



Modern Political Tendencies 37 

gent and well organized selfish interests are 
able to accomplish results for their own bene- 
fit which aif ord them special privileges entirely 
inconsistent with that equal opportunity which 
should exist in all governments. In our own 
country the principal basis of the undue influ- 
ence of aggressive elements in the electorate 
may be found in the lack of interest and atten- 
tion to public affairs which characterizes the 
great body of our citizenship. The absence 
of adequate civic responsibility has a ready ex- 
planation. The extraordiuary expansion of 
commerce and industry, and the more assured 
rewards which accrue to those engaged in busi- 
ness or the professions, have caused a turning 
aside from pohtical activity and a diminished 
regard for the important matters pertaining 
to the city, the state and the nation. Excep- 
tional possibilities for individual advancement 
have given a stimulus to material development 
which affords a constant attraction to the most 
competent and energetic. There is no stratifi- 
cation in our society. Repeated examples of 
the achievements of those beginning in un- 



38 Modern Political Tendencies 

promising surroundings who gained leading 
positions in finance or industry, give a constant 
spur to engage in a business or professional ca- 
reer and to become absorbed in it to the ex- 
clusion of civic responsibilities. There are, no 
doubt, glaring contrasts in the material condi- 
tions of the people, but opportunities are open 
to everyone much more generally than else- 
where. While these opportunities afford en- 
couragement to all, they give a direction to the 
pursuits and aspirations of our citizenship 
which is not altogether desirable. 

There is a constant disposition on the part 
of political leaders and parties to follow the 
most assertive demands of popular opinion and 
to seek the support of groups which include 
large numbers of voters. This has been very 
marked in recent years. Candidates for of- 
fice are inevitably subject to certain potent 
influences. Their desire is for the support of 
the voters and for their continued favor in the 
recurring elections. They often find that the 
loyal assistance of the few is of much greater 
advantage in their campaigns than the passive 



Modern Political Tendencies 39 

approval of the much larger body of citizens 
who are not actively interested. A personal 
favor, the passage of a private or pension act, 
or the obtaining of an appropriation for a com- 
munity, creates a friendly and aggressive sup- 
port. The securing of legislation for local im- 
provements, sometimes altogether objection- 
able, is often given as the main reason for re- 
election to office. 

The influence of classes imbued with a de- 
sire for the promotion of their separate inter- 
ests threatens the quality of legislation. A 
powerful coterie demanding favorable action 
are often able to obtain what they wish by the 
threat that they will turn en masse from one 
political party to another if their demands are 
not complied with. This is very manifest in the 
work of many associations established upon sec- 
tional or class lines. 

In this connection it may be said that in re- 
cent vears there has been a marked decline in 
the prestige of members of legislative bodies, 
both state and national. For this there is a 
variety of reasons. 



40 Modern Political Tendencies 

(A) In comparison with executive officers 
the representatives elected are thought to rep- 
resent in far greater degree private or section- 
al interests. With the increased extent of 
governmental activity and the much larger 
number of enterprises undertaken by the state, 
local concerns assume greater magnitude and 
this fact tends to divert the activities of mem- 
bers of legislative bodies from considerations 
of general importance to those of lesser mo- 
ment. The representative or senator in the 
National or State Legislature is prone to re- 
gard himself as the agent of his locality. No 
doubt this spirit of provincialism often pos- 
sesses legislators when they could more wisely 
appeal to the people for support on the basis 
of devotion to the interests of the whole state 
or nation. 

In contrast with the special responsibility of 
members of legislative bodies to a part of a 
state or of the country, the President and gov- 
ernors of States are regarded as having a direct 
responsibility to all the people of the nation or 
of a state. Mr. Cleveland once wrote that the 



Modern Political Tendencies 41 

President of the United States was the one 
person who should be accessible to every citi- 
zen for the presentation of his grievances. 
Again, the acts of executive officers are usually 
given wider publicity and they have a readier 
hearing from the pubhc and often more general 
credit for measures recommended or promoted 
by them. 

It is superfluous to say that there should be 
unremitting warfare against class conscious- 
ness and the domination of individual or sel- 
fish interests. One main object of the recent 
war was to destroy privileged classes, and it 
seems altogether impossible that in a country 
in which there is universal suffrage and a strong 
underlying spirit of patriotism there should be 
submission to the control of groups or organi- 
zations whose horizon is bounded by provincial 
or selfish aims. 

(B) There is a prevalent impression — ^not 
altogether based upon facts — ^that there have 
been more numerous instances of the use of 
corrupt methods in the case of legislators, also 
that they are more likely to become subject to 



42 Modern Political Tendencies 

the dictation of political bosses or of powerful 
business or financial cliques. Accusations of 
the use of bribery in legislative bodies have been 
frequently made, and in some cases the proof 
has not been lacking. 

The demoralizing effect of the use of money 
in election campaigns has been a fruitful source 
of evil in its influence upon public officials and 
has affected the standing of legislators and ex- 
ecutive officers alike. But, as in the case of 
many other objectionable features in our po- 
litical life, the chief responsibility for extrava- 
gance in the use of money rests with the people. 
Indifference is prevalent. Elaborate organi- 
zations and costly campaigns have been foimd 
necessary to bring voters who have convictions 
to the polls, and with those of no settled con- 
victions money has been utilized to influence 
their votes. 

(C) A serious danger in political tenden- 
cies is the inertia which has been characteristic 
of legislative bodies, both state and national, 
and the lack of ready response to the people's 
will. In general, it may be said that there has 



Modern Political Tendencies 43 

been failure to adopt those progressive poli- 
cies and methods of procedure which are re- 
quired by present day conditions. For years 
it has been recognized by all careful students 
of the subject that there are fundamental de- 
fects in the making of appropriations by the 
Congress at Washington, and that there is a 
lack of proper coordination between the execu- 
tive and legislative branches, as well as between 
the committees or agencies having to do with 
the raising of revenue and its expenditure. For 
a long time the necessity for a more rational pol- 
icy for the conservation of national resources 
and rendering them available for the people's 
use, free from monopohstic control, has been 
regarded as a crying need. Water power hav- 
ing a value of many millions per year has been 
going to waste because of a failure to agree 
upon regulations for the granting of rights by 
the federal authorities. This has been true 
though numerous bills have been introduced 
and the subject has been almost constantly un- 
der consideration for the last ten years. 
It is not intended to say that there should be 



44 Modern Political Tendencies 

an immediate response to every wave of popu- 
lar agitation. There are two fmidamental 
ideas embodied in the Federal Constitution, 
both alike to be reckoned with. First, that the 
will of the people should prevail. Second, that 
the popular will should be deliberately ex- 
pressed and after mature consideration. It 
has been pertinently said that the framers of 
the Constitution were equally afraid of the 
despot and of the mob. Thus the Constitution 
contains a formidable array of provisions which 
make for deliberation and prevent hasty ac- 
tion, such as the existence of two legislative 
bodies, the veto power of the Executive, to be 
overcome only by a two-thirds vote of both 
houses, and the revisory power of the Supreme 
Court which has the right to declare statutes 
invalid. The rule in vogue in many countries 
that Cabinet ministers should resign after an 
adverse vote in the legislative body is not ac- 
cepted here. The requirement for a two-thirds 
vote of both Houses of Congress and subse- 
quent ratification by three-fourths of the 
States in the adoption of Constitutional amend- 



Modern Political Tendencies 45 

ments, is in the same line with other regula- 
tions which require deliberate action. But 
giving full scope to these salutary provisions 
there has often occurred a wholly unnecessary 
delay in the enactment of wholesome laws. 
Oftentimes there has been an almost universal 
opinion in favor of very essential legislation to 
which Congress or State legislatures have 
failed to respond. A frequent explanation for 
this is that ultra-conservative elements have an 
undue influence in controlling the action of 
legislative bodies and that bills are suppressed 
by committees, but there are other reasons, 
partly traditionary, partly based upon meth- 
ods of parliamentary procedure, and more than 
all upon the very wide range of subjects which 
call for legislative determination. The num- 
ber of bills annually introduced in the British 
House of Commons can be numbered by hun- 
dreds, while those in the two Houses of Con- 
gress at Washington must be counted by tens 
of thousands. It is not because of a mere pref- 
erence of legislators that the committee system 
has been adopted. Such a system is absolutely 



46 Modern Political Tendencies 

essential. The great mass of legislative pro- 
posals presented for consideration jmakes it 
imperatively necessary to refer bills which are 
introduced to scores of committees, otherwise 
the necessary care in drafting and perfecting 
measures could not be attained. There is im- 
posed upon the Congress of the United States 
the duty of considering a multitude of private 
claims, some of which survive even from gen- 
eration to generation. It must give attention 
to the varied requirements of the municipal 
government of the District of Columbia. 
Thousands of private pension bills are intro- 
duced every year. The record of a member of 
the House of Representatives who was for a 
long time continued in office, discloses that in a 
single session he introduced twelve himdred 
pension bills and not a single measure having 
to do with matters of national scope. This 
illustration could be dupUcated by the record 
of other members. Bridges across navigable 
streams must be authorized by Act of Con- 
gress, although in practically every instance 
the granting or refusal of the right is deter- 



Modern Political Tendencies 47 

mined by recommendations of the War De- 
partment. Bills making appropriations for 
rivers and harbors and for public buildings, in- 
clude hundreds of items, the consideration of 
any one of which may lead to extended discus- 
sion before committees or in the two Houses 
of Congress. The evil resulting from this 
enormous mass of subjects to be considered by 
the National Legislature is that time required 
for questions of national policy is consumed 
upon questions of detail or of trivial impor- 
tance. The effects of the system upon indi- 
vidual legislators in diverting their attention 
from the larger and more important subjects 
which should occupy their time are passed on 
to the electorate as well, in that their judgment 
of the standing and qualifications of their rep- 
resentatives in the National Legislature, 
House or Senate, is obscured by the promi- 
nence of questions which are not national in 
their scope. A very large share of the business 
which now consumes the time of Congress 
could be more efficiently and fairly performed 
by non-partisan expert commissions. This was 



48 Modern Political Tendencies 

a favorite plan of the late President Roosevelt. 
For example, a government building is much 
to be desired in the growing cities of the coun- 
try. Such a structure impresses upon the com- 
munity in which it is located the ever present 
activities of the Federal government, and pro- 
vides a permanent centre for the transaction of 
official business. It is dangerous, however, to 
vest the selection and the amoimt to be ex- 
pended in bodies in which personal claims or 
prestige are so likely to result in favoritism or 
waste. 

Thus, the present methods of transacting 
legislative business in the national legislature 
have become obsolete and are entirely unfitted 
to meet the requirements of one hundred and 
ten millions of people. In the early days of 
the Republic the difficulty of meeting such 
staggering demands for legislative action did 
not exist. In the first few Congresses the total 
of appropriations reached only a few millions, 
and the statutes relating to them could be 
written upon a very few pages. The first Act 
passed by Congress making appropriations for 



Modern Political Tendencies 49 

federal expenses became a law September 29, 
1789. The amounts provided were included 
under four general heads, aggregating less 
than one million dollars, and were set forth 
on a single page in eleven lines of print. There 
soon developed a disposition to make specific 
mention of every object appropriated for. 
The statute of 1795 contained less than three 
pages, and, as an illustration of the tendency 
toward greater minuteness, included the sum 
of twelve hundred dollars "for wood and can- 
dles in the several offices of the treasury depart- 
ment (except the Treasurer's office)." Not 
until the year 1800, did the total of appropria- 
tions reach the sum of ten millions of dollars, 
and this amount was not again reached until 
1809. Under these circumstances it was pos- 
sible to give attention to every item. Now 
there is not only an increase in population of 
thirty-fold, but a far greater increase in the 
functions of government, and in the objects 
for which appropriations are made. The 
average of annual expenditures exceeds one 
billion. In the last copy of the Annual Sta- 



50 Modern Political Tendencies 

tutes of the United States appropriation bills 
occupied a very large share of the pages of the 
general statutes, while the disbursements spe- 
cifically or generally authorized approximated 
fourteen bilHons. True, this immense amount 
was due to the exigencies of war, but every 
kind of legislation has so increased that the 
methods of legislation at first devised are clear- 
ly inapplicable to present conditions. The 
most wholesome reform would be accom- 
plished if in all these questions Congress should 
restrict its action, as far as possible, to the de- 
termination of questions of general policy. 

A substantial obstacle to the ready enact- 
ment of federal legislation is the unlimited de- 
bate which has been allowed in the Senate, un- 
til a sUght modification in the rules of that 
body, recently adopted, which, however, makes 
no substantial difference. For this preroga- 
tive of the Senate there are both affirmative 
and negative arguments. The arguments 
against the present method of procedure are the 
postponement or defeat of measures having 
the support of a majority of Senators. Of this 



Modern Political Tendencies 51 

there have been notable examples in filibus- 
ters, especially at the close of a session when 
there is a great mass of proposed legislation 
awaiting disposition. On the other side, it 
must be said that this right of unlimited de- 
bate is the bulwark of the minority, that it en- 
sures more careful and intelligent considera- 
tion, time is afforded for an expression of pop- 
ular opinion throughout the country, and up- 
on many important propositions the action of 
those who have conducted a so-called filibuster 
has been ultimately approved by the people. 

A glaring defect in the methods of transact- 
ing business in both Houses of Congress is the 
tendency to hold back until the very last day 
or days of the session, the final passage of im- 
portant appropriation bills and other measures. 
This causes a crush in legislative work, and 
often leads to hasty action and sometimes to 
serious errors in the form of bills. One un- 
favorable result is that much legislation is prac- 
tically determined by Conference Committees 
rather than by the two houses in the exercise 
of their proper functions. 



52 Modern Political Tendencies 

Specific reforms intended to afford relief 
from the tendencies which make for inefficiency 
or inertia now existing, are at present under 
earnest consideration in Congress and else- 
where. In nothing is there greater need than 
in the system of making appropriations. Pres- 
ent methods cannot be said to be conducive 
either to economy or to the most orderly and 
careful prosecution of governmental activities. 
The laws require the members of the Cabinet to 
prepare in the autumn of each year estimates 
of the amoimts to be appropriated for the re- 
spective departments or branches of the gov- 
ernment. These estimates are collected by the 
Secretary of the Treasury and by him are sub- 
mitted to the House of Representatives at the 
opening of the following session. In perform- 
ing this duty he has no power of revision, al- 
though he might make suggestions to his fellow 
Cabinet officers. During the administration 
of President Hayes, Mr. Sherman, Secretary 
of the Treasury, sought to obtain authority to 
review the estimates of his colleagues, but this 
was strenuously opposed. Each member of 



Modern Political Tendencies 53 

the Cabinet, and even his subordinates, may ap- 
pear before committees of Congress to advo- 
cate provision for their departments or bu- 
reaus. In addition to the departments or bu- 
reaus there is a very considerable number of 
commissions and other bodies outside of the 
jurisdiction of any Cabinet officer, all the mem- 
bers of which are seeking generous provision 
for their work. In commenting upon the 
claims made imder such a system, a committee 
of the Constitutional Convention of the State 
of New York in 1915, said: "In size they are 
limited only by the enthusiasm of each bureau 
chief for the activities of his own bureau." The 
President may enjoin upon his subordinates 
the necessity for limiting expenses or empha- 
size the relative importance of different branch- 
es of the federal service, but it is out of the 
question that with his manifold duties he 
should be able to exercise such a degree of su- 
pervision as to secure a symmetrical budget 
characterized by a proper degree of economy. 
The argument has frequently been made 
against executive control of expenditures that 



54 Modern Political Tendencies 

in the history of appropriations it appears 
Congress has cut down the amounts recom- 
mended by the executive department in ahnost 
every case. It is rather an exposition of the 
imperfection of the system. Another objec- 
tion to existing methods arises from the rela- 
tion between the two Houses of Congress. Al- 
though the House of Representatives has the 
first consideration of money bills, the Senate 
has imlimited power of amendment. It may 
be conceded that either body would be entire- 
ly competent to determine questions of this 
nature, but there are manifest advantages in 
giving final authority to one or to the other. 
When appropriation bills have passed both 
houses, the separate preferences of the two, 
and of many individual members of each, in 
fact, is readily traced, and this method makes 
for extravagance. One house may lay special 
stress upon certain classes of appropriation, 
and the other upon others. For example, the 
House of Representatives may consider that 
in provisions in the agricultural appropria- 
tion bill for the destruction of pests, the boll 



Modern Political Tendencies 55 

weevil requires the more serious attention, 
while in the Senate the gipsy moth may be re- 
garded as the more serious danger. For a 
long time there was a variance between the 
House and the Senate as to the comparative 
value of battleships and cruisers in the upbuild- 
ing of the Navy. As an outcome, after the 
question has been in conference between the 
two houses, the almost invariable result is to 
include generous provision for both, and this 
applies to the whole aggregate of appropria- 
tions. 

Again, the method of granting to various 
committees in the two houses the right to frame 
appropriation biUs creates a lack of harmony 
and tends to increase the aggregate amount. 
Still further, there is no concert of action be- 
tween committees having to do with provi- 
sion for revenue and those having charge of 
bills for appropriations. Until the year 1865 
the same conmiittee of the House of Represen- 
tatives reported revenue biUs and all appro- 
priation measures as well, when there was a 



56 Modern Political Tendencies 

division into two great committees, that on 
Ways and Means, upon which was laid the 
duty of framing bills for revenue, and that 
upon Appropriations, which recommended 
amounts for expenditure. At a later time the 
argument prevailed that the concentration of 
all appropriations in one committee gave to it 
undue power, and that the different branches 
of the government required more extended 
consideration than could be given by a single 
body. Various bills were assigned to other 
committees. One immediate reason for the 
division was of a personal nature. It was the 
desire of the controlling element in the House 
to limit the authority and prestige of the then 
Chairman of the Committee on Appropria- 
tions, Mr. Samuel J. Randall, who was not in 
accord with the majority of his party on the 
question of tariff. However conclusive the ar- 
guments for a division may have been, the re- 
sult must be a failure to recognize the compara- 
tive needs of the different departments of the 
government such as is manifestly necessary in 
any well organized plan. The different com- 



Modern Political Tendencies 57 

mittees all lay special stress upon the subjects 
included in their jurisdiction. 

There has been a recent agitation for a budg- 
et system, the movement for which was given 
special impetus by the recommendations of 
President Taft during his administration. 
Resolutions are now pending in Congress for 
the creation of a commission to investigate and 
report upon this subject. The term "budget" 
has been used somewhat loosely, and in many 
instances without any adequate definition of 
its scope and meaning. There may be said to 
be two classes of budgets or plans for the mak- 
ing of appropriations; one depends upon par- 
liamentary scrutiny and discussion imder which 
the budget is essentially the result of legisla- 
tive action. The other rests primarily and 
principally upon the executive department, 
and the authority of the legislature over the ob- 
jects for which expenditures are to be made and 
the amounts therefor are prescribed by execu- 
tive authority. The United States presents 
the best example of the former, and England 
or the United Kingdom of the latter. In fact. 



58 Modern Political Tendencies 

these two countries may be said to illustrate 
the two extremes, and in most other countries 
the method adopted is that of a middle course 
between the two. The latter plan with various 
modifications has been long in use wherever the 
responsible ministers are members of the legis- 
lature. 

There are several essential requirements in 
any well devised budgetary system. Proposi- 
tions for the raising of revenue and for ex- 
penditures should be inseparably connected so 
that the two may be as nearly equal as possi- 
ble. For some years prior to 1890, amounts 
raised by taxation in the United States were 
far in excess of governmental requirements. It 
is obvious that such a condition is a constant 
incentive to extravagant expenditure, and a 
worse situation arises when appropriations ex- 
ceed revenues. Every report should contain 
the recapitulation of comparative receipts and 
expenditures for some years preceding the date 
at which the annual budget is presented, and 
the probable surplus or deficit at the beginning 
of the year for which provision is to be made. 



Modern Political Tendencies 59 

Another requisite is that the responsibiUty for 
estimates, both of receipts and expenditures, 
should be centrahzed. Any change in the 
methods of the Federal government would 
naturally impose additional duties upon the 
Secretary of the Treasury. In the same con- 
nection it is desirable that disbursements be 
subjected to close scrutiny by skilled account- 
ants, acting under the direction either of the 
executive department or of Congress, who 
shall make sure that expenditures are devoted 
to the objects and restrained within the limits 
intended. The Committee of Accounts of 
the House of Commons is one of the most 
useful agencies for securing the proper dispo- 
sition of amounts appropriated. 

It must be conceded that the English system 
is superior to our own in the most essential fea- 
tures pertaining to fiscal management. There 
is vested in the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
the duty of preparing the Budget. Appeals 
must be made to his office for all appropria- 
tions, and he has before him reports from every 
branch of the government. When his report 



60 Modern Political Tendencies 

is completed it is embodied in the bill presented 
to the Commons, whose authority is restricted 
to the adoption of the budget within the limits 
recommended. New items cannot be intro- 
duced by amendment, nor can items already 
included be increased in amount. As the rule 
was laid down by Mr. Gladstone in 1866, the 
duty of the Commons is not to augment, but to 
decrease expenditure. The same budget in- 
creases or diminishes existing taxes so as to 
provide the amounts required. Such a plan, 
however, is not readily adapted to a country in 
which there is a separation of the legislative 
from the executive in the manner provided by 
the federal Constitution. 

Very considerable progress has been made in 
divers states of the Union in the adoption of a 
budgetary plan. In nearly all of these there is 
a pronounced disposition to vest much larger 
powers in the executive branch of the govern- 
ment and to do away with much of the author- 
ity formerly exercised by the legislature. The 
States of Maryland, Utah and New Mexico 
have adopted the budget system in a very com- 



Modern Political Tendencies 61 

plete form. In Maryland a constitutional 
amendment making provision for the new 
methods was adopted and statutes were passed 
enforcing it. In Utah and New Mexico pro- 
vision is made by statutes under their existing 
constitutions. In each of these states the Gov- 
ernor must prepare and submit to the legisla- 
ture a budget containing a complete plan or 
list of proposed expenditures and estimated 
revenues, and with it a bill for the adoption of 
the recommendations contained in it. There 
is a strict prohibition against the increase of 
amounts recommended by the Governor and 
against the making of supplemental appro- 
priations save in cases such as constitutional 
obligations or others of exceptional nature. No 
other appropriation bill can receive attention 
until the budget has been passed upon, and 
supplementary appropriations which are re- 
quired by conditions arising after its presenta- 
tion must be separately considered, and none 
can be made unless there is either a balance in 
the State Treasury to meet the amounts re- 
quired, or additional taxes are imposed for that 



62 Modern Political Tendencies 

purpose. In New Mexico the Governor and 
members of departments and institutions have 
the right to appear before the Legislature and 
be heard in respect to their estimates. Less 
radical provision for a budget has been made 
in a number of other states. 

In any proposition for adoption by the fed- 
eral government of plans similar to those in 
vogue in the states mentioned, it is impossible 
to ignore substantial obstacles based upon con- 
stitutional provisions and the preferences of 
the people. In the first place if, according to 
plans which have been proposed, the executive 
has control of expenditures without responsi- 
bility for providing revenue, there will be con- 
stant friction. If he is to exercise control over 
both expenditures and the raising of revenues, 
his power becomes despotic. In any event so 
great a change would involve the transfer to 
the executive of powers and duties which have 
belonged to the legislative branch from the very 
beginning of the government. It should be 
noted that the so-called power of the purse, the 
right of the representatives of the people to 



Modern Political Tendencies 63 

determine appropriations, and to frame rev- 
enue bills, has been regarded for centuries as 
the very citadel of popular government. The 
controversy over the right of the king to levy 
taxes and to determine the apportionment of 
public funds without the authority of the 
House of Commons, was the main source of 
the quarrel between King Charles I and the 
Parliament. The prerogatives of the legisla- 
tive branch of the government in this regard 
have been so firmly fixed, that it is doubtful 
whether any Congress would ever consent to 
changes abdicating their control over revenue 
measures and appropriations. 

Another method which has much merit has 
been suggested, namely, the formation of a 
general committee in the House of Represen- 
tatives, to be made up of, say, two members 
from each of the various committees having to 
do with the making of appropriations, the com- 
mittees on Naval and Military Affairs, For- 
eign Affairs, Agriculture, Post Ofiices and 
Post Roads, Rivers and Harbors and Indian 
Affairs, including, of course, the general com- 



64 Modern Political Tendencies 

mittee on appropriations which still reports 
six supply bills. There would have to be added 
representatives from the Committee on Ways 
and Means, so that propositions relating to 
revenue may be brought into unison with those 
relating to expenditures. It would be the duty 
of this committee to consider the probable de- 
mands of the government for all its operations 
and recommend specific amounts for each 
branch of the public service, together with pro- 
vision for the necessary revenue. The recom- 
mendations of the committee would be pre- 
sented to the House for discussion and amend- 
ment. If the House upon full consideration 
concluded to increase or diminish the amounts 
recommended by the committee, the vote of the 
majority of the whole body would be required. 
After the totals of these respective appropria- 
tions were determined there would be an op- 
portunity for the Senate to increase or de- 
crease. When the limits of expenditure 
should be thus fixed, the duty would be re- 
mitted to the respective appropriation com- 
mittees of Congress to apportion expenses 



Modern Political Tendencies 65 

for the various objects included in their jur- 
isdiction, not exceeding the specific amounts 
determined upon for each. Such a plan would 
secure a most salutary reform. The Congress, 
rather than scattered committees, would assume 
the responsibility for fiscal legislation. One 
advantage would be a clearer presentation to 
the country, and a more thorough understand- 
ing by the Congress itself, of the respective 
needs of the different activities of the govern- 
ment. Greater publicity would be assured, and 
more general interest aroused. Each commit- 
tee would be under limitations which do not 
now exist, and the tendency would be toward 
economy and the more beneficial utilization of 
public funds. 



Relation of the President to Congress 

For a considerable number of years there 
has been an intelligent agitation for closer 
touch between the executive and Congress, 
though no definite popular opinion seems to 



66 Modern PolitiQal Tendencies 

have been formed upon this subject. Those who 
favor an innovation in this regard, also advo- 
cate a larger degree of participation by the ex- 
ecutive in the framing of legislation. The ob- 
stacles in the way of such changes, as in the 
case of a budget, are largely traditionary and 
based upon widely accepted conceptions of the 
proper functions of the two branches of the 
government. When the federal constitution was 
adopted there were vivid recollections of the 
arbitrary conduct of royal governors, and an 
idea was prevalent that the rule of the people 
was best assured by vesting in their represen- 
tatives the largest possible degree of power. It 
was thought best to adopt as a fundamental 
principle the division of governmental fimc- 
tions into three departments, executive, legis- 
lative and judiciary, and to insist upon a clear 
line of division in the powers and duties of the 
three. There have been striking contrasts in 
the attitude of the various Presidents toward 
the national legislature. President McKinley 
may be said to represent one extreme. This 
was due to his conciliatory spirit and to his long 



Modern Political Tendencies 67 

experience as a member of the House of Rep- 
resentatives, which had given him an intimate 
acquaintance with many members of both 
houses. Other Presidents of a more indepen- 
dent or dominating disposition have main- 
tained an entirely different attitude, some- 
times cherishing a depreciating opinion of the 
legislators, or of the "men upon the hill," as 
one executive expressed himself. This has 
caused distrust of the motives and qualities 
each of the other, especially when the Presi- 
dent has been of a different political party 
from that of a majority in one or both houses. 

The defects of the present system are mani- 
fest in the lack of helpful cooperation, also in 
the long delay of Congress in acting upon ex- 
ecutive recommendations and the disposition 
to follow different paths. It has been main- 
tained that this could be remedied by the pres- 
ence of Cabinet officers on the floor of one or 
both Houses of Congress. It is obvious that 
this would create a vital difference in the rela- 
tions between the heads of departments and 
Congress. The present duties of Cabinet of- 



68 Modern Political Tendencies 

ficers are distinctively executive. Should they 
have place in either House of Congress differ- 
ent qualifications and duties would be brought 
into play. It would be necessary that they be 
ready in debate and that a very considerable 
share of their time be given to attendance upon 
sessions of Congress. One result might be the 
installation of deputies of permanent tenure 
and enlarged authority, whose time would be 
exclusively given to the routine work of the 
respective departments. Nevertheless, such a 
change would tend to secure a better under- 
standing of the recommendations made by the 
President and his Cabinet, and to promote co- 
operation between the executive and the legis- 
lative. Whether it would tend to enlarge the 
power of the executive may be doubted. Many 
propositions presented by him or his subordin- 
ates would be subjected to the fiercest criticism 
and accepted, as now, only after elaborate dis- 
cussion. Under the present system it has been 
the custom of presidents and governors to "go 
before the people," as it is expressed. In this 
manner it is hoped to bring an unwilling legis- 



Modern Political Tendencies 69 

lative body to accept recommendations which 
have been rejected or unfavorably considered. 
This method is indirect, involves much delay, 
and tends to create antagonisms. 



Important Political Tendencies After 

THE War 

Never have so many extremely important 
problems demanded immediate solution as at 
the present time. The questions to be decided 
are not only very numerous and of supreme 
importance, but the viewpoint of the peoples 
is altogether different from that which pre- 
vailed formerly. The thoughts of men have 
been quickened as never before and newly de- 
veloped aspirations are everywhere demanding 
attention. The war has aroused a spirit of 
heroism and self-sacrifice, also a degree of al- 
truism, all of which promise human betterment. 
It has been well said that unsettled questions 
are fatal to the repose of nations. The close 



70 Modern Political Tendencies 

of the war has created an urgent demand that 
not only questions growing out of the war, but 
others that have been demanding solution for 
centuries, be settled now and permanently. 
The convulsion which has held the world in its 
grip promises radical changes in the relations 
of governments to the governed, and of the 
governed each to the other. Tendencies which 
were plainly manifest in some countries will be 
effective there with increased force, and much 
more in others where similar movements were 
latent or suppressed. We shall behold not 
merely the further and enlarged development 
of tendencies already existing, but others will 
unfold as the result of the awakening incident 
to the frightful contest through which the 
world has passed. 

As regards the effect of the war on relations 
between governments and the governed, it is 
clear that the demands for popular institutions 
will be very much accentuated. The war was 
won by nations of liberal type. One potent 
reason for this demand will be the earnest de- 
sire for an era of peace, and the almost uni- 



Modern Political Tendencies 71 

versal feeling that wars in the past have been 
the result of dynastic ambitions. It is very 
generally believed that but for the ambition of 
one sovereign the terrible conflict would not 
have occurred, and there is assurance that 
countries which have popular rule will not has- 
tily engage in war. In forecasting the future 
of democracy, we must take into account its 
difficulties in areas inhabited by peoples who 
have for a long time been under arbitrary re- 
straint. With many of them all forms of re- 
straint, however salutary, will evoke strenuous 
opposition, because any form of government 
is associated in their thought with injustice and 
oppression. The difficulties are particularly 
marked in those countries of Europe in which 
there is a mingling of race, religion and lan- 
guage, which tends to prevent unity and order- 
ly government. Under whatever form, this 
has been one of the main causes of discord and 
war in Europe and elsewhere. In many of 
them the political map does not correspond 
with the ethnical map. It is a condition of 
popular government that the majority must 



72 Modern Political Tendencies 

rule. Political power must find lodgment 
somewhere, and a necessary theory wherever 
popular institutions exist is that there is so far 
a common interest which pertains to all, that 
control can be entrusted to the mandate of a 
majority without injustice to any part. 
Though the advocates of popular rule must 
recognize the necessity of restrictions upon 
majorities and the exclusion from the domain 
of government of certain rights which no indi- 
vidual can surrender, they nevertheless, can- 
not accept the saying of Ibsen, "Minorities 
may sometimes be right, but majorities never." 
In some of the countries which have been lib- 
erated from autocracy it will not be easy to es- 
tablish a rule of majorities because the popula- 
tion is of such distinct and sometimes antagon- 
istic types. The bond which has united these 
countries has been military force, the prestige 
of a dynasty, or common economic interests. 
The aim of despotic rulers has been to bind 
together discordant elements, and in accom- 
plishing this object efforts have been made to 
promote the adoption of a single language and 



Modern Political Tendencies 73 

often to establish one religious creed. A coun- 
try is fortunate whose people divide on poli- 
tical questions independently of racial or re- 
ligious divisions and unitedly seek to promote 
national interests and the welfare of the whole 
body of citizenship. Political divisions have 
been aptly described as horizontal or vertical. 
The horizontal cleavage is due to age-long 
sources of difference, such as those already 
mentioned, of language, race or religion. In 
these countries it may be said that the differ- 
ent elements in the body politic are like geo- 
logical strata. On the other hand, vertical 
divisions separate by a less perceptible line all 
the inhabitants of a country. The citizens di- 
vide upon simple questions of national policy 
of general concern, and such a degree of indi- 
vidual independence is afforded that the con- 
stant struggles for freedom of conscience and 
inalienable rights are absent. Our own coun- 
try is fortunate in this regard. While the so- 
called "melting pot" has not created an entire- 
ly homogeneous people, the spirit of equality 
aided by the public school system, by frequent 



74 Modern Political Tendencies 

changes of residence, and the ready mingling of 
those of different descent or traditions, all tend 
toward harmony. One rule that should be in- 
sisted upon at the Peace Table is that in the 
countries in which such bitter antagonisms have 
existed there should be respect for the liberty 
of the individual, and no oppression because of 
creed or race. 

The tendency to a survival of many objec- 
tionable features of a political or social system 
which has been superseded or overthrown af- 
fords an interesting study. Certain customs 
are deeply imbedded in the habits of a people 
and are not easily abandoned. The outstand- 
ing fact is that progressive tendencies which are 
successful are aimed against particular evils 
or assume particular forms and are rarely com- 
prehensive in their nature. A revolutionary 
movement may be directed against autocratic 
power or ecclesiastical domination and succeed 
in its main purpose, but many minor character- 
istics of the former order remain for a long 
time as excrescences upon the body politic. Of 
such survivals there have been many examples. 



Modern Political Tendencies 75 

such as the retention of property rights in 
lands, exhibiting traces of the feudal regime; 
stringent regulations in favor of the landowner 
against his tenants, like those remaining in 
France since the establishment of a republic. 
Forms of government may change, but graft 
and corruption still prevail in official circles. 
One of the most striking, and at the same time, 
most commendable, endeavors of the patriotic 
citizens of the Latin American Repubhcs has 
been the effort to rid their country of the dis- 
honest practices which have come down to them 
as an inheritance from the days of the Gover- 
nor-General and his subordinates. The admin- 
istration of the ordinary governmental activi- 
ties may still retain a complicated and incompe- 
tent bureaucracy. Injudicious laws and regu- 
lations may still be adopted, the only difference 
being that the source of power has been shifted 
from those wearing the insignia of nobility to 
the demagogue. It is probable, but by no 
means certain, that, in view of the unusual 
awakening incident to the recent upheaval, 
changes will be more sweeping than in the past 



76 Modern Political Tendencies 

and there will be a prompter acceptance of re- 
forms which are universal in their scope. 

In spite of all the dangers which arise from 
the revolutionary changes in recently liberated 
countries, it is to be hoped that the aspirations 
for liberty which have dwelt in the breasts of 
these people for centuries will prevent them 
from abusing the privileges of freedom, and 
that intelligence and self-restraint will cause 
them to recognize that a reign of law and due 
consideration for the rights of others must go 
hand in hand with the privileges of indepen- 
dence. 

The constant presence of forces of reaction, 
the tendency to go from one extreme to an- 
other, has already become apparent, especially 
in Russia and in efforts which have been mani- 
fest among the Central Powers. It may be 
confidently expected that no regime of assas- 
sination or of class domination can permanent- 
ly endure. A sentiment favoring liberty, based 
upon law and justice, which abhors cruelty and 
class supremacy, is strong everywhere. It is 
a mighty force to overturn any government 



Modern Political Tendencies 77 

similar to that now in control of a considerable 
part of Russia. Not only does this sentiment 
have great force in the country involved, but 
there is a reflected influence from other coun- 
tries which is sure to have its effect. Also, 
there is among all peoples a widespread dispo- 
sition to place order on the same level with 
liberty, and often the desire for the former out- 
weighs aspirations for the latter. This fact ex- 
plains the despotic authority sometimes exer- 
cised by rulers over peoples who naturally 
would desire free institutions. Of this there 
have been numerous illustrations from the time 
of Pisistratus of Athens to Porfirio Diaz in 
Mexico. The French Revolution affords an 
example in which a Reign of Terror was over- 
thrown because more tranquil conditions were 
desired. Liberty founded upon crime and 
maintained by bloodshed and a denial of equal- 
ity cannot be regarded as genuine. 



78 Modern Political Tendencies 

New Relations of Goyeenments to the 
Activities of the People 

Our own country though less seriously in- 
volved in the late struggle, may be regarded as 
typical of all in many respects, though some 
tendencies will be especially prominent here. 
One inevitable result of the war will be the 
greater care and supervision of the state with a 
view to improve the condition of the individual 
citizen. Nothing more vividly reveals the ma- 
terial as well as the moral and spiritual 
strength or weakness of a nation than to be en- 
gaged in a contest in which its very existence 
is at stake. Defects in physique to an extent 
not at all realized were brought to light by the 
medical examinations of our soldiers. It is not 
merely for victory in war, but for national up- 
building in peace that an efficient citizenship 
required, and thus the public health is now 
ognized as a matter of the most urgent con- 
cern. In another particular a serious situa- 
tion was disclosed in the United States. It ap- 



ipis / 
rec- V 



Modern Political Tendencies 79 

peared that great numbers of those living here 
were lacking in loyalty to this country and still 
retained a stronger attachment to the countries 
from which they came. Of these some of the 
most intelligent engaged in plots against our 
vital interests and sought to promote disorder 
and anarchy, while others, less inteUigent, were 
entirely unfamiliar with the nature and spirit 
of American institutions, and thus became the 
ready tools of disloyal leaders. Others have 
shown themselves to be the foes of all govern- 
ments and advocates of the destruction of ex- 
isting social organizations. This condition has 
caused a rude awakening which should result 
in no revival of Know-nothingism or crusade 
against immigrants, but a stern insistence that 
disturbers and disloyalists shall be rigorously 
excluded, whether those seeking to come here- 
after or already here. A more general educa- 
tion in the language of the country and the du- 
ties of citizenship is urgently required. The 
demand for an assurance of undivided loyalty 
cannot stop with those of foreign birth or de- 
scent, and there is every indication that there 



80 Modern Political Tendencies 

will be restraints upon unlimited freedom of 
speech and of action quite out of keeping with 
the easy tolerance of the past. The same con- 
siderations which demanded that a loosely 
joined confederation of states should give way 
to a united nation, now demand that there 
should be no loosely joined association of citi- 
zens, but a united people. 

The question of the release of the state to 
industry is asstmiing almost paramount impor- 
tance. Propositions pending look to an exten- 
sion either of pubhc regulation or of public 
ownership. Since the commencement of the 
war, in August, 1914, governments have taken 
over railroads, also industries suitable for fur- 
nishing military supplies, both of which for- 
merly were under exclusively private owner- 
ship. They have also exercised control over 
practically the whole field of production and 
distribution. These steps were regarded as es- 
sential for the successful prosecution of the war. 
It became evident that it was necessary for the 
various governments to secure that concentra- 
tion of effort and unity of control which in pri- 



Modern Political Tendencies 81 

vate hands had come to be regarded as odious 
under objectionable forms of monopoly. It is 
too early to determine the precise effect of such 
enlarged participation upon the course to be 
followed in the future, but many instructive 
lessons may be derived from the events of the 
last few years. Increasing attention is now 
given to the question whether drastic statutes 
and regulations against combination in indus- 
try are not harmful in a time when large scale 
operations are so essential for efficiency. In the 
matter of public regulation, a natural dividing 
\ line has been maintained between so-called pub- 
^^lic utihties and the ordinary operations of in- 
dustry and commerce. A distinction has also 
been observed between enterprises conducted 
by private corporations and those under the 
management of individuals and partnerships. 
The right to exercise exceptional control over 
corporations has been based upon the fact that 
their existence depends upon a grant from the 
state and that government supervision is re- 
quired because of the privileges which they en- 
joy. There is a growing disposition, however, 



82 Modern Political Tendencies 

to the effect that these rules do not suifieiently 
safeguard the interests of the public, and that 
the more comprehensive principle should be 
observed that all the activities of business, whe- 
ther corporate or private, should be so con- 
ducted as to promote the general good. This 
opinion has in a measure received the sanction 
of judicial decisions in the Supreme Court of 
the United States. 

There are numerous factors which promise 
an increase of public regulation. The con- 
stantly widening ramifications of business, its 
greater magnitude and the ever increasing ex- 
tent of social demands, all promote this ten- 
dency. With this increasing magnitude of the 
operations of business and the more pressing 
needs of social life, opportunities are multipUed 
for practices altogether inconsistent with pub-/ 
lie welfare. To prevent these public interfer^ 
ence is demanded. The problem of the em- 
ployment of labor has become a national one, 
and private employment bureaus have not 
proven sufficient to adjust supply to demand. 
The relations of employer and employee in 



Modern Political Tendencies 83 

numerous occupations present difficulties the 
solution of which is of far-reaching importance 
and affect every interest of the coimtry. Dis- 
agreements upon labor conditions and wages 
have threatened the maintenance of supplies 
of food and the ordinary necessaries of life. 
Essential means of conmiunication have been 
endangered. To all these problems the state 
must give most careful attention. But with 
equal insistence the highest standards must be 
required of all those who have to do with pub- 
lic regulation. They must keep pace with the 
progress which is so manifest in the new situa- 
tions which have called them into action. There 
is an obvious danger that the disposition of 
officials will be colored by partiality, or by a 
desire for the advantage of political parties or 
candidates for office. No adequate or perfect 
adjustment of the relations of government to 
industry can he secured until decisions are 
solely based upon a full appreciation of the 
necessity for a just and inteUigent solution of 
the important questions involved. 

At the very forefront among questions to be 



84 Modern Political Tendencies 

settled is that of the railroads of the country 
and of other agencies which provide transpor- 
tation. There can be no better illustration of 
tendencies toward reactions in popular opinion 
than in the attitude of the public toward the 
railways. In earlier years the disposition of 
the people was one of marked partiality to 
them. This was illustrated by numerous land 
grants and subventions to railways, and the 
granting of various substantial concessions. 
At times these powerful aggregations of capi- 
tal threatened to overshadow the state itself. 
This attitude of the public gave way to one of 
equally partial regard for shippers and later to 
especial consideration for the interests of rail- 
way employees. Serious omissions in the poli- 
cies which have been pursued are now very gen- 
erally recognized. Under a system by which 
the predominant influence in determining the 
rates to be charged by railroads has been exer- 
cised by those who patronize them and are in- 
terested in the lowest possible cost to them- 
selves, the development of transportation fa- 
cilities has been seriously hampered. Nothing 



Modern Political Tendencies 85 

short of a great emergency could have given 
adequate proof of this fact, and that emergency- 
was furnished by the demands of war. The 
war has also shown the benefit of imified con- 
trol, and an idea which still has a great hold 
upon the pubHc thought, that sharp competi- 
tion between parallel lines is helpful, will surely 
give way to new ideas of cooperation. There 
can be little doubt but that a more liberal pol- 
icy will be extended to these corporations in 
the way of authority to increase charges for 
freight and passenger trafiic. This will not be 
associated with any relaxation, but rather with 
added strictness in pubhc regulation. 

As regards pubhc ownership of railroads, it 
must be conceded that recent experiments in 
government management have not proven to 
be satisfactory in this country, though it would 
be venturesome to attempt to forecast how this 
problem will ultimately be settled. There are 
now manifest obstacles in the way, such as the 
lack of a trained force of government experts 
suitable for this task, and, under present con- 
ditions, the confessedly greater efficiency of 



86 Modern Political Tendencies 

private management. The experience of Ger- 
many and other nations affords us no reliable 
example in this regard. In many of the coun- 
tries in which there is government ownership 
and control of railways, military necessities 
were a primary consideration. The employees 
have been for a long time subjected to a sever- 
ity of discipline which would be impossible in 
the United States. Again, the disposition of 
employees is altogether different from that 
which prevails here. We have not the large 
class of persons who are willing to give a life- 
time to mere routine or to subordinate posi- 
tions. The conviction is still deeply seated 
in the minds of the people that it is not by the 
bureaucracy of a paternal government, but by 
the free play of individual initiative that the 
country has attained its splendid development, 
and that no change has occurred to justify any 
radical departure from that policy. The poli- 
tical argument against government ownership 
requires attention. If two millions or more of 
men were given status as government employ- 
ees their appeal for more favorable conditions 



L- 



Modern Political Tendencies 87 

for themselves would be constantly addressed 
to Congress and those holding political posi- 
tions. Their votes would be earnestly sought 
by political parties and officials entrusted with 
the framing of laws and regulations relating to 
railway management. The great body of these 
employees would naturally be willing to break 
away from the usual political ties and support 
those parties or candidates who favored their 
interests. This is a probable result of govern- 
ment ownership which under present conditions 
in this country assumes very considerable im- 
portance. On the other hand, it is strenuously 
argued, and that too by many who do not favor 
public ownership as an independent proposi- 
tion, that the central government is the only or- 
ganization which has the power and prestige 
to stand in the way of possible demands for in- 
creased wages which are excessive, or against 
discriminating regulations and taxes imposed 
by the states. It is maintained that under pri- 
vate ownership the sympathies of the vast ma- 
jority of the people will be unfriendly to the 
railway corporations, and thus they will be un- 



88 Modern Political Tendencies 

able to perform their duties or secure an ade- 
quate return upon capital invested, because the 
public will not submit to the higher charges 
necessary to meet increasing costs of operation 
and necessary improvements unless the added 
amounts are paid into the national treasury. 

Humanitarian Tendencies, There is every 
reason to believe that there will be a notable in- 
crease in humanitarian movements after the 
war. The fearful crisis has called into helpful 
activity vigorous and self-denying efforts every- 
where, arousing persons who formerly were 
living lives of personal indulgence. We have 
witnessed the patriotic services of millions of 
soldiers, enrolled to battle for the republic, 
whose achievements have been characterized by 
a spirit of sacrifice and devotion and attended 
by sorrowful loSs of life and of health. The 
part played by the armies in the field has been 
reinforced by similar manifestation of devotion 
from equal numbers outside of the ranks. These 
services have created a burning impression not 
only of the immeasurable debt which the coun- 



Modern Political Tendencies 89 

try owes to its citizens, but also of the obligation 
which citizens owe to each other. The state must 
pay its debt, but there remains an equal respon- 
sibility for the individual. This responsibility 
will surely create a new recognition of the de- 
mands of humanity. Such a disposition will 
be greatly promoted by the events of the war 
which have brought together under a common 
cause multitudes of persons between whom for- 
merly there existed a spirit of indifference 
amounting almost to repulsion. War destroys 
many existing standards of social value. Old 
distinctions give way to sentiments of equality 
and a realization of the rewards which are due 
for services rendered. The frightful suffering 
of multitudes in the wake of the war in Eu- 
rope has caused an awakening which has been 
universal in its appeal. Public provision by 
appropriations from the national treasury and 
private subscriptions, as for the Red Cross and 
similar societies, have assumed a volume utter- 
ly unprecedented. 

The proposed League of Nations clearly 
manifests a far greater regard for himianitar- 



90 Modern Political Tendencies 

ian ideas than have ever before been included 
in a treaty or agreement among nations. It 
contains provisions looking to the ameliora- 
tion of the condition of men, women and chil- 
dren engaged in labor. It adds to the recog- 
nition of the Red Cross in prior treaties, an 
article under which all the member nations 
"agree to encourage and promote the estab- 
lishment and cooperation of duly authorized 
voluntary national Red Cross organizations, 
having as purposes the improvement of health, 
the prevention of disease and the mitigation of 
suffering throughout the world." The cove- 
nant also contains an elaborate article impos- 
ing upon the more advanced countries duties 
toward backward races and nations. All these 
signs point to progress in regard for humanity 
quite as helpful as any of the tendencies of the 
times. 

The National Spirit, Pride in military 
achievements and the recollection of fright- 
ful sufferings must stimulate the national 
spirit in every country which had part in 



Modern Political Tendencies 91 

the victory won. To this will be added 
the gratification of a desire for the indepen- 
dence of peoples who have for a long time been 
under alien domination. This disposition, 
however, will be profomidly modified by the 
results of the war. There will no longer exist 
that admiration which was so common, for 
military autocracies such as that of Germany. 
Disturbers of peace will be sternly repressed. 
Preparation for possible war will not be aban- 
doned, but the standing of nations will depend 
in far greater measure upon their peaceful 
relations with the rest of the world, their 
growth in trade and industry and the means 
employed to improve the domestic conditions 
of the people. It is earnestly to be hoped that 
the spirit of repulsion will disappear and that 
of cooperation will increase. 

Centralization. As regards centralization 
there will be two opposing tendencies, one to 
secure the advantages which belong to larger 
imits under one government, in which those 
made up of the same race, as contemplated in 



92 Modern Political Tendencies 

the case of Serbia and adjoining countries, will 
seek to combine. A reorganized Poland, made 
up of portions of Russia, Germany and Aus- 
tria, will furnish another example. An oppos- 
ing tendency will be promoted by the desire for 
relief from alien domination and for indepen- 
dent national life. This will be illustrated by 
a dismembered Austria-Hungary and Turkey, 
and probably by divers sections of Russia, as 
in the case of the Ukraine and other West- 
em provinces. There is every probability that 
in the earlier reorganization of Europe the ten- 
dency toward smaller units will be more pro- 
nounced, but at a later time the tendency to- 
ward centralization and larger units will be 
more prominent, because of the manifest ad- 
vantages and greater prestige possessed by 
larger countries. *^^ Another potent force for 
centralization in the future will be the added 
emphasis placed upon the economic interdepen- 
dence of various wide areas, as in Russia. 
Trade and social relations will both promote 
combinations of smaller countries. Whichever 
tendency may prevail, a quickened political 



Modern Political Tendencies 93 

consciousness and the greater complexity in the 
operations of local governments are likely to 
result in an increased degree of local auton- 
omy in the commimities and subdivisions of 
newly created nations and some established 
nations as well. 



Tendencies Toward Removal or Inequali- 
ties IN Conditions — Socialism 

An adequate treatment of existing tenden- 
cies requires consideration of powerful move- 
ments based upon prevalent ideas that glar- 
ing inequalities exist, not merely as the result 
of privileges or rank in more autocratic coun- 
tries, but also because of the imequal posses- 
sion of wealth and the means of subsistence in 
all. Agitations in this regard are promoted 
imder all forms of government and in divers 
ways ; by extreme violence, as under the pres- 
ent regime in Russia, which has as its essence 
class domination, to be secured, if necessary, 
by unremitting warfare; by slow and orderly 



94 Modern Political Tendencies 

processes in the exercise of the law-making 
power, as in governments having liberal insti- 
tutions; by negotiations between groups, as 
between labor imions or bodies of workmen and 
their employers, or by strikes; by socialistic 
revolutions that would abolish private property 
and vest in the state control of the means of 
production. Last of all, anarchy must be men- 
tioned, with its fearful excesses — a revolt 
against settled conditions which seeks to de- 
stroy all prospects for an assured or just ad- 
vancement in social conditions by its fright- 
fulness. The principles of anarchy as promul- 
gated by its early advocates were strikingly 
mild in comparison with the furious and de- 
structive spirit of those who are now counted 
as believers in its maxims. A revolution was 
to be accomplished by peaceful methods. Its 
adherents proposed groups instead of govern- 
ments, societies free from the restraint of law 
or obedience to any political authority, and 
maintained that social relations should rest up- 
on voluntary agreements concluded between in- 
dividuals. They argued that freedom from 



Modern Political Tendencies 95 

submission to authority and the absence of fear 
of punishment would stimulate private initia- 
tive and give free play to individual develop- 
ment. Regarding government as an evil which 
imposes unnecessary restraint and tends by its 
regulations to create privilege and inequality, 
it has become the very antithesis of socialism. 
It abhors at the same time state capitalism un- 
der the form of socialism, and individual cap- 
italism, as at present. The present regime in 
Russia cannot be classed as anarchistic because 
those in control demand government of the se- 
verest sort under the supremacy of the prole- 
tariat. 

Legislation has already been detailed which 
shows the sociahstic trend of more liberal gov- 
ernments like Great Britain, and these move- 
ments have been illustrated by governmental 
control during the war. It is impossible to 
ignore a body of opinion which is so widespread 
to the effect that opportunities in life are so 
unequal as to create injustice. We have be- 
come, it is said, a people like unto a long pro- 
cession in which the strong or the fortunate are 



96 Modern Political Tendencies 

jostling the weak and pushing them to the 
wall. The question arises, what will be the re- 
sult of these experiments and of the prevalent 
agitation? Will the more or less moderate in- 
cursions into sociaHsm which have been made 
be limited to efforts to equaUze the opportuni- 
ties of the people and to seciu'e greater efficien- 
cy and harmony, or will they mean an uphea- 
val and a leveling? Will more generous poli- 
cies be adopted in response to the demands of a 
growing spirit of humanitarianism which shall 
merely emphasize the care and supervision 
which the state may exercise for the benefit of 
its citizens, or will there be revolutions? There 
is an almost infinite variety of views as to what 
socialism really means, and it numbers among 
its advocates those whose position in life is 
strikingly in contrast, from dwellers in poverty 
who have little hope of better conditions, to the 
so-called millionaire parlor sociaUsts, to whom 
it is a pleasing cult, though sometimes superfi- 
cially considered, and is not inconsistent with 
the very persistent retention of what posses- 
sions they themselves have. Mr. Bernard 



Modern Political Tendencies 97 

Shaw has defined sociahsm as a state of society 
in which the income of the country shall be di- 
vided equally among the inhabitants without 
regard to their character, their industry, or any 
other consideration except the fact that they 
are human beings. This is probably the strong- 
est definition that is given by any one, except, 
perhaps, those who favor a condition of abso- 
lute destruction. Such a rule of society would 
enshrine ihe lazy man, it would mean that the 
convict who has just been released from the 
penitentiary should be placed on the same foot- 
ing with one who has sought to perform his 
duties to society. It is not probable that a 
time will come when earnestness of purpose 
and a natural ambition for personal adance- 
ment will not have their fair reward, because 
any political community would face disaster in 
which the majority of its citizens were not 
actuated by the conviction that industry and 
thrift are necessary qualities. No nation can 
fulfill its destiny except its citizens are disposed 
to make such utilization of their energies as to 
add to the material resources and the strength 



98 Modern Political Tendencies 

of the state. The ability to devise methods for\ 
enlarged operations of the state, which serve j 
humanity and promote equality without repres- / 
sion of wholesome efforts for increased effi-/ 
ciency, will be one of the tests of democra- 
cy in the future. The people of this coun- 
try should all alike be willing to bear the bur- 
den of any rational means for the improvement 
of our citizenship, and for raising the general 
standard of manhood and womanhood, how- 
ever much this may mean additional payments 
to the tax gatherer. Mention has already been 
made of taxation for a recent class of expendi- 
ture which has been adopted in many commun- 
ities with effects which are certainly helpful, 
namely, the establishment of parks and play- 
grounds for larger opportunities for amuse- 
ment and recreation by all classes, with a spe- 
cial view to aiding those in humble circum- 
stances. The scope of such enterprises will, no 
doubt, include more considerate attention to 
methods already partially adopted, such as 
supervision of the health of children in schools, 
occasional furnishing of meals for pupils who 



Modern Political Tendencies 99 
/ 

are indigent, public employment agencies, en- 
larged educational facilities, more efficient 
training in manual and trade schools, and pen- 
sions for widows, perhaps old age pensions as 
well. Other provisions will, no doubt, suggest 
themselves. Any burden of taxation or any 
sacrifice which the individual is called upon to 
make for his country's sake or for the advance- 
ment of humanity in a sane and rational man- 
ner, is not likely to arouse any vigorous oppo- 
sition from the great mass of the American 
people, and it is probable that these questions 
will be settled more wisely and more humanely 
here than in some other countries. On the other 
hand, any policy which penahzes the commen- 
dable ambition for achievement or imposes un- 
necessary taxes with crushing weight upon 
those who toil with hand or brain and are suc- 
cessful, will surely be rejected with prompt- 
ness and vigor by the American people. The 
injudicious methods of benevolence which ; 
tend to make permanent dependents of the un- / 
fortunate are especially to be shunned. 



100 Modern Political Tendencies 

Increasing Taxes and their Utilization 
FOR the Equalization of Conditions 

Will the greater burden of taxation made 
necessary by the larger scope of national, state 
and municipal activities promote the desire for 
the equalization of social conditions? Progres- 
sively expanding taxes which were very much 
in evidence prior to the war will be immensely 
increased by the colossal burden of public debts 
incurred during the recent struggle. These 
debts must have far-reaching effects not mere- 
ly upon the economic situation but upon politi- 
cal and social conditions as well. National in- 
debtedness incurred in some countries engaged 
in the contest has equalled, and in one or two 
instances possibly surpassed, one-half of the 
estimated total of all their wealth. The enor- 
mous expenses of war have imposed very ser- 
ious handicaps upon the life of nations in the 
past. As an illustration of their cost it may 
be said that in our own country the expenses 
of the four years of Civil War from 1861 to 



Modern Political Tendencies 101 

1865 were nearly twice as great as the total ex- 
penses of the Federal Government for the 
seventy-two years from Washington's inagu- 
ration to the year 1861. It is also likely that 
the cost of our participation in this struggle, 
including loans to our allies, will equal the to- 
tal cost of federal expenditures from 1789 to 
1917. These enormous debts will require not 
only an increase of existing levies, but new 
methods of taxation. 

It has been the frankly avowed object of 
those who have framed revenue bills, not mere- 
ly to raise money, but to diminish great accu- 
mulations of private wealth. It is possible that 
in some countries there will be levies, not mere- 
ly of ordinary taxes unprecedented in amount, 
but upon accimiulated capital as well. Not 
very long ago the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
virtually made the concession that part of the 
national debt of Great Britain might be paid 
by impositions upon the holdings of private 
property. Such a course has been demanded 
in conventions of the so-called Labor Party. 
Some time before this statement was made. 



102 Modem Political Tendencies 

Premier Lloyd George declared his desire to 
break up the great landed estates in England. 
One of the most notable tendencies in recent 
years has been the adoption of taxation provid- 
ing progressive or increasing rates upon larger 
incomes and larger profits — so-called graded 
taxation. This method, strange as it may ap- 
pear, is of comparatively recent origin. It was 
adopted in Italy in 1864, and in Austria in 
1898. In the case of incomes the former meth- 
od in English speaking countries was to im- 
pose a uniform or flat rate, irrespective of the 
amount. The most notable innovations on the 
rule of uniformity were made in several of the 
English colonies. The first income tax law en- 
acted in the United States during the Civil 
War imposed uniform rates upon all incomes. 
A later Act in 1864, provided a rate of 3 per 
cent on amounts below $10,000, and 5 per cent 
above that sum. The proposed income tax of 
1894, which was declared invalid by the Su- 
preme Court, made no distinction according to 
amount. The Act of 1913, the beginning or 
basis of the present income tax law, adopted 



Modern Political Tendencies 103 

after ratification of a constitutional amend- 
ment authorizing income taxes, as passed by 
the House of Representatives and as presented 
in the Senate by the Finance Committee of that 
body, made no distinction, but in the considera- 
tion on the floor of the Senate an amendment 
was adopted providing for gradation, and 
this was accepted in the bill as it became a law. 
The Revenue Act imposing taxes upon incomes 
accruing during the year 1918, fixed a so-called 
normal rate of 6 per cent on the first four thou- 
sand of incomes after allowing for exemptions 
and deductions, and one of 12 per cent on the 
amount of incomes in excess of that amount. 
To this was added a surtax rising from 1 per 
cent on amounts between $5,000 and $6,000, to 
65 per cent on incomes exceeding one million, 
showing a variation in the aggregate of nor- 
mal and surtaxes from 6 per cent on smaller 
incomes to 77 per cent on the largest. Until 
1909 income tax rates in England were equal- 
ly proportioned, with no difference between 
large and small incomes. At that time graded 
taxes were established and there was discrimin- 



104« Modern Political Tendencies 

ation between incomes earned by personal ser- 
vice and those derived from investments. 

In the Revenue Act of the United States 
last referred to, there is also a provision for 
gradation in inheritance taxes. After certain 
exemptions a levy is made of 1 per cent on net 
amoimts transmitted not in excess of fifty 
thousand dollars, and this is gradually in- 
creased to 25 per cent on the amount by which 
the net estate exceeds ten millions. Gradu- 
ated taxes upon the earnings of corporations 
in the form of so-called war profits and excess 
profits taxes have also been imposed. In the 
discussions of questions of federal taxation, 
levies upon the amounts of ordinary sales have 
been proposed, but have not been favorably 
considered. These would lack the element of 
gradation contained in income and excess 
profits taxes and would rest upon all with equal 
weight according to consumption. A so-called 
semi-luxury tax imposed on the sale of certain 
articles of luxury or of larger cost, has been 
vigorously opposed, and propositions have been 
made for its repeal. Such a tax in its general 



Modern Political Tendencies 105 

principles is of a class similar to the graded 
taxes referred to. 

Similar tendencies appear, though less prom- 
inently, in discriminating taxes upon land 
values. In Great Britain a valuation of landed 
property was made in the year 1910, accom- 
panied by a provision that on the death of the 
owner or sale by him at a later time, twenty 
per cent of the increased value should go to 
the state. This gives to the state a part of the 
so-called "unearned increment," An Act in 
New Zealand provides that all owners of agri- 
cultural land worth more than forty thousand 
pounds must pay a supertax of twenty-five 
per cent. There is also a provision in the latter 
country for increased taxation upon an owner 
who continues to be absent beyond a certain 
limited time. The agitation for the so-called 
single tax imposing all the pubHc burdens upon 
land values, also has a very considerable num- 
ber of advocates. 

In this connection it may be stated that there 
is much confusion created by cumulative taxes 
on incomes and inheritances levied at the same 



106 Modem Political Tendencies 

time by states as well as by the federal govern- 
ment. There are strong arguments for a di- 
viding line between state and national taxation 
which would leave income and excess profits 
taxes to the federal government and give to 
the state the exclusive right to impose taxes 
upon inheritances. To this division, however, 
there is one practical obstacle in that the states 
have adopted an infinite variety of inheritance 
taxes. 

The ejffect upon industry as well as upon so- 
cial conditions, of the methods of taxation 
adopted to provide greatly increased revenues, 
is sure to arouse extended discussion in the fu- 
ture. It has been vigorously maintained that 
the present income taxes, joined with war and 
excess profit taxes, create a serious handicap 
upon industry. It is argued that for the most 
satisfactory development of the country it is 
requisite that there be an expectation of large 
rewards in business ventures and that new 
enterprises which would be useful to the peo- 
ple are discouraged by existing laws. It is 
said that, if in any investjjient large profits are 



Modern Political Tendencies 107 

promised there is naturally a commensurately 
greater risk, and should the government in the 
exercise of the taxing power take an unusual 
share of the earnings obtained in the most 
profitable undertakings, the initiative and 
energy which promote prosperity will be dis- 
couraged. This question of affording encour- 
agement for large profits raises an issue which 
is fundamental in its nature, that is, whether 
it is altogether wholesome for a people to en- 
gage in so many enterprises of a speculative 
nature, or foster the absorbing desire for un- 
limited accumulations which is quickened rath- 
er than repressed by every success in money 
making. Would not the spirit of sharp compe- 
tition which is sometimes so hurtful, be dimin- 
ished with diminishing chances for profit and 
other qualities be developed quite as valuable 
to the people as the unsurpassed material de- 
velopment which has been so prominent in the 
past? 

It should be distinctly understood that the 
large taxes imposed upon incomes and profits 
which reach high figures are not exclusively 



108 Modern Political Tendencies 

borne in the last analysis by those who pay 
them. The principle of the dijBFusion of the 
burden of taxation among all consumers was 
accepted by some economists of prominence 
as an axiom. As a statement of a general 
fact, this is only partly correct, but clearly if 
the returns upon investments of the creditor 
or the landowner are heavily taxed, rates of 
interest to the creditor and of rent to the ten- 
ant are naturally raised and the burden im- 
posed upon industry is passed on to the con- 
sumer. It is needless to say that these greatly 
increased taxes are and will continue to be a 
prominent factor in the high cost of living. 

There is no prospect of the abandonment of 
heavy rates of taxation or of the principle of 
gradation. The demands for a larger national 
life and for enlarged facihties and conveniences, 
as in the development of cities and the making 
of so-called good roads, will necessitate a con- 
tinuance of burdensome levies after the 
amounts required for the payment of the inter- 
est and principal of government debts shall 
have been substantially diminished. 



Modern Political Tendencies 109 

The Result of Wak Upon Political Ten- 
dencies IN THE United States 

It is perfectly evident that the late contest 
will exert an exceptional influence upon poli- 
tical and social movements in the United 
States. This vnll apply to affairs both inter- 
national and domestic. 

The peculiar isolation which has been a dis- 
tinctive feature of our national life from the 
beginning, has disappeared. It is indeed true, 
that the period of exclusiveness is past, and 
this applies not merely to trade relations but 
to political relations also. Whatever happens in 
the remotest part of the globe is now of the 
most substantial interest to us. Prior to the 
war the absence of any threat of invasion and 
oiu- detachment from the rivalries of nations 
of the old world has kept us out of their al- 
liances and controversies. It is to be hoped 
that this situation will not be entirely changed, 
but a new condition was created by our parti- 
cipation in the war, and a reahzation that op- 



110 Modern Political Tendencies 

posing ideas of autocracy and democracy must 
have a vital effect upon our own policies and 
that we must share in their settlement. There 
will be a constant appreciation of the larger 
part which America must take in the affairs 
of the world. 

In domestic affairs it is impossible to over- 
look the awakening of the whole population, 
the effects of which cannot be swallowed up by 
the force of established ideas and methods ex- 
isting prior to 1914. Certain essentials not to 
be shaken must remain, but we shall abandon 
many cherished ideas of the past. There will 
be a far wider outlook ajid greater readiness 
to grapple with new problems and settle them 
according to the changed conditions which 
have arisen. The duties of classes to each 
other, and the claims of humanity have a new 
meaning. The influence of the returning sol- 
diers and sailors will have a marked effect upon 
political conditions. The nimaber mustered 
into service, about half of whom went over 
seas, exceeds four millions. Already organi- 
zations are forming to perpetuate their influ- 



Modem Political Tendencies 111 

ence. The general effect of these organiza- 
tions will be in the direction of equality and a 
more democratic spirit, at least if we can judge 
from manifestations already in evidence. The; 
ever perplexing problem of the relations be- 
tween capital and labor, between employer and 
employee, has assumed increased importance. 
Those on the two sides have often seemed to 
be gathered in antagonistic camps. While 
nimaerous civic organizations have been formed 
and meetings have been held in which there 
have been loud protestations of a common in- 
terest and of a desire to act in cooperation, 
nevertheless, the essential difficulties of the 
problem have been very generally overlooked. 
These difficulties are intense individuahsm 
manifested by both and a desire for personal 
advancement in which the rights of each have 
been only partially recognized by the other. 
No altruistic spirit can be expected to 
be the controlling factor, but there is first a 
necessity for a more intelligent understanding 
of facts. What are the increases in wages 
which are justified by the added cost of living? 



112 Modern Political Tendencies 

What larger share of the product should be- 
long to labor? How can provision be made 
for seasons in which enterprises are conducted 
unprofitably or at a loss? To this should be 
added a greater degree of fairness and regard 
for each other in which it is necessary that a 
common interest should have paramount con- 
sideration. Fundamental economic facts must 
obtain recognition. It must be imderstood 
that the chief factor in the wages of labor is 
the volume and quality of production, that any 
movement or plan for limiting product must 
be injurious rather than helpful, and that spe- 
cial privileges or wages on an exceptional scale 
for any particular group of laborers must in 
the long run diminish the opportunities of the 
rest. On the other hand, there is necessity for 
an awakening among employers to the fact 
that those in their employ have aspirations as 
well as rights, qiiite as important as their own, 
that their very living depends upon the prose- 
cution of the enterprises in which they are em- 
ployed, and that an exclusion of workmen from 
the tasks in which they are engaged means 



Modern Political Tendencies 113 

much more to them than it does to the em- 
ployer. There is every indication that the fa- 
vored position of labor which has been made 
an established policy in this country can be 
more readily continued in the future. The 
more pressing burden of taxation in many 
other countries, the diminished number of 
workers available in Europe, the destruction 
of plant and equipment over wide areas, will 
all tend to increase labor costs there, and thus 
render substantially easier the maintenance of 
high wages in the United States. 



The International Outlook 

In international relations, a question which 
^presents itself at the very outset is whether im- 
perialistic ambitions for expansion of terri- 
tory will cease. It is hardly probable that they 
will, but the opportunity for their gratification 
will, no doubt, be very much diminished. Foiu' 
:imperialistic governments of autocratic form 
have been overthrown, those of Russia, Ger- 



114 Modem Political Tendencies 

many, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. It 
would seem to be impossible that even the re- 
action which manifests itself after extremes 
of popular control and the excesses which some- 
times attend them, could be sufficient to restore 
dynasties similar to those which existed in these 
countries prior to the war. There is an effort 
for a League of Nations, the aim of which is 
to secure the peace of the world and coopera- 
tion among nations. It is to be hoped that this 
may succeed, however imperfect it may be in 
its original form. It is most desirable that 
steps be taken now to secure such results when 
the recollections of suffering and destruction 
are so vivid. It will be necessary for every 
country to abate in some degree its claims for 
sovereignty and independence, as common 
good and friendly relations are objects more 
valuable than the assertion of ambitious na- 
tional aims. Every step which looks in this, 
direction should awaken special interest in the 
people of the United States, because this coun-- 
try has by presidents and Acts of Congress re- 
peatedly asserted our desire for a peaceful set- 



Modern Political Tendencies 115 

tlement of controversies betwen nations, and 
we must occupy in the future a position of in- 
fluence in securing such aims far surpassing 
that of the past. 

There is one result which would seem to be 
definitely assured by the war, and that is the 
denial of the supremacy of might in the rela- 
tions between nations and a new respect for 
smaller countries. So long ago as the year 
1825, Chief Justice Marshall said in a deci- 
sion, "No principle of general law is more uni- 
versally acknowledged than the perfect equal- 
ity of nations. Russia and Geneva have equal 
rights." This may be regarded as a principle 
in our diplomacy maintained from the begin- 
ning. Not only is there an almost universal 
demand for a rule of justice and order, but the 
recollection of the frightful suffering of small- 
er coimtries like Belgium, Serbia and Poland, 
has left a lasting impression. No one will 
hereafter assert, as did Treitschke, perhaps the 
most influential leader of thought in Germany, 
that the country which relies upon justice 
places itself in a ridiculous position. 



116 Modern Political Tendencies 

One of the most radical phases of ameliora- 
tion which the future promises is a revolution- 
ary change in the position of the less civilized 
or backward peoples. From time immemorial 
these have been the prey of the stronger, and 
contemporaneously with wars which have arisen 
because of disagreements due to close contact 
there have been almost constant quarrels be- 
tween the more advanced nations over the ac- 
quisition of colonies in the outlying portions of 
the earth. The desire to avoid the reciu*rence 
of friction arising from these controversies led 
to a partial rapprochement among the leading 
powers of Europe within the last century, un- 
der which they sought to divide regions in Afri- 
ca and Asia by amicable adjustment by which 
each country was to receive its share of the spoiL 
At one time Russia seemed likely to subject to 
its dominion a large share of Asia, in the acqui- 
sition of which that country had a marked ad- 
vantage because of contiguity. These colonies 
originally were exploited exclusively for the 
benefit of their owners with very slight regard • 
for the welfare of their inhabitants. A change 



Modern Political Tendencies 117 

in the policy was first initiated by England un- 
der which special attention was given to the 
local interests and rights of her subject posses- 
sions, and beginning with Canada local auton- 
omy was granted to several countries extend- 
mg even to the matter of tariffs. 

Now the old order is passing. The term do- 
minions is beginning to be substituted for that 
of colonies in the British Empire, and some of 
. hem are to be separately represented in the 
p]?^oposed League of Nations. Further ex- 
jr^jloitation has been checked. Under the terms 
otf the Treaty of Paris oppressed and neg- 
leT^cted peoples are to receive the fostering care 
(i)f the more civilized nations. The influence 
i")f this change upon their development can 
ha-rdly be exaggerated. It means a new order 
wiiich promises the gradual disappearance of 
t;he striking inequalities between the different 
divisions of the human race. The effects of 
changed relations are sure to extend as well to 
countries occupying an intermediate position 
between those of the highest and lowest civiH- 
zations. 



118 Modern Political Tendencies 

For assured results the development of In- 
ternational Law and its universal application 
are essential, also its enforcement by a Court 
established to decide such controversies as may 
arise. It will be necessary that the opinions 
of jurists and the provisions of various treaties 
be codified and such additions made as re- 
quired to meet the demands of a new era. This 
is no chimerical fancy, but is responsive to the 
aspirations which have been created by the war . 

In conclusion it must be said that it is n;ot 
easy to forecast the comparative developmeir^t 
of numerous tendencies which will assumci 
especial prominence in the future. Much wil.l 
depend on the terms of peace agreed upon at • 
Paris, and the adoption or rejection of the pro- 
posed plan for a League of Nations. It is, 
however, certain that radical changes will be 
accomplished which would have been impos- 
sible before. 

There are no reasons for pessimism. There 
are transcendent possibilities in the newly- 
aroused conceptions of an awakened and suf- 
fering world. It is especially a time when no 



Modem Political Tendencies 119 

restricted outlook or narrow vision will answer. 

It will be necessary to grasp world problems. 

The word future has a greater significance 

than ever. Political tendencies may seem to 
mo ve in wrong directions, and experiments will 
be 1 ^ried which experience will show must be 
abar idoned. Nevertheless, there is ground for 
the strongest assurance that though peoples 
may^ sometimes go astray they will ultimately 
be 1 'ight. Thus, notwithstanding the clash of 
idea s and interests which seem to threaten the 
stal )ility of states and the maintenance of or- 
der and peace, we may yet have added faith 
in t.he years to come, and an inspiring confi- 
den ce in human destiny. 



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